Peter Obi, the former Anambra State governor and Labour Party’s flag bearer at the last 2023 presidential election is a visibly disturbed man at the moment, going by DECENCY GLOBAL NEWS investigations. Though, he may not have publicly expressed it, but he has not been the least pleased with the turn out of events in the last couple of months and even in the recent weeks.
For Obi, it appears he no longer wields the sort of popularity and influence that he wielded during the 2023 presidential election and some critical recent developments are clear pointers to this fact. The foregoing explains how the reality started to sink in for Obi.
It is no longer news that Peter Obi has since declared his intention to be part of the ADC coalition, a group of politicians who have come together with the intent to unseat the incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu come 2027.
He got his first shocker when he got to ADC and was not given the Star treatment he expected. Unlike in 2023, under the Labour Party when he picked the party’s presidential ticket on a platter of gold, Obi has been told he would have to fight to earn the ticket like other aspiring candidates such as Atiku Abubakar and Rotimi Amaechi.
This has not gone down well with him, hence the warning from the ADC hierarchy and other personalities like PDP chieftain, Segun Sowunmi, telling him in clear terms that he will not be handed the ADC presidential ticket on a plate, he would have to go through the primaries like everybody else!
And the results of the recent by-election held across the country including Peter Obi’s strongholds like Anambra state have shown clearly that Obi’s political influence has severely diminished. Despite Obi publicly endorsing the ADC candidates in the south east states, they all lost the election and very poorly too.
This is perhaps the reason the Labour Party Chairman in Lagos State, Dayo Ekong, warned Peter Obi to take a look at his strategies and come up with effective means of regaining the strong political influence he once wielded.
According to her, that “Grace” which carried him then is now fading because of his divisive choices and inconsistent political moves.
“In 2023, Nigerians rallied behind him because he represented a fresh alternative,” Ekong wrote. “But today, his actions are beginning to erode the foundation of that support.”
Ekong said Obi’s endorsements have failed to deliver victories, citing recent elections as evidence of his weakening political weight
She also cited the 2024 Edo governorship election, where Obi supported Olumide Akpata, the LP candidate, against the preference of party leaders.
Despite Obi’s rallies in Benin, the Edo State capital, and other places, Akpata lost to Monday Okpebholo, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Ekong said the outcome showed Obi’s support no longer guarantees results.
She also recalled the 2023 Imo governorship election, where Obi campaigned for Athan Achonu of the LP, who was defeated by APC’s Hope Uzodimma. “Back-to-back failures in Imo and Edo should raise questions about Obi’s political strategy,” she said.
The Lagos LP chairperson said the “most embarrassing blow” came during the recent Anambra by-election. She said Obi abandoned the LP candidate and backed Justina Azuka of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the Onitsha North 1 constituency seat. According to her, Obi even wore an ADC-branded cap during the campaign, but the party polled only 1,909 votes, while LP also fared poorly in the by-election.
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), without Obi’s support, won comfortably with 7,774 votes. Ekong quoted Chukwuma Soludo, Anambra governor, as saying the results marked the “death” of both LP and ADC in the state. She noted that Obi’s political missteps have made him lose credibility even in his stronghold.
“A wise politician should know when to stop and think deeply about the direction he is heading,” she said. Ekong urged Obi to end his fights with LP leadership and focus on rebuilding trust.
We openly criticised Wike for his PDP/APC antics, yet we look away from Obi’s LP/ADC antics,” she added.
“The electorate are watching and slowly making up their minds about 2027.”
Dayo Ekong is only one out of hundreds of Nigerians who believe Peter Obi has lost the influence and popularity he once enjoyed. Lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, also took on Peter Obi on his waning popularity and influence. He said to Obi just before the Anambra by-election:
“If Obi is popular, let him deliver his candidate in Anambra and stop Soludo but they are too scared to get involved in Anambra politics but they are interested in politics everywhere else except their state. How do you want to be president but can’t deliver Gov in your state? Let him produce governors in Anambra and all the South East states in 2027. And also stop Otti from working with Tinubu for second term. That is how you show you are popular politically, not trying to use religion for election.”
Just days ago, the Igbo apex group, Ohaneze Ndigbo, released a statement stating categorically that no Igboman will contest president in 2027 against the incumbent President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying that the possibility of the Southeast producing the president of Nigeria can only be achieved in 2035, not 2027, thereby rejecting a Peter Obi candidacy.
In a statement in Abakaliki signed by Deputy President General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo faction, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, and the National Spokesman, Chief Thompson Ohia, they revealed that the decision was taken after a crucial meeting with South-East political leaders, Imeobi and Nzukoumunna, in which they resolved that no Igboman will contest president in 2027 against the incumbent President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, signaling the rejection of a one-term bid.
They maintained that the most practicable political vehicle for the pursuit of the Igbo presidency lies within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2035 if the zoning formula is altered, saying that among notable Igbo sons, the Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi, stands out as the most outstanding candidate to lead the country. This, very clearly, shows that a large chunk of the east may not be standing with Obi and things may even get tougher for him by 2027.
The man many political observers have credited for the decline in Obi’s influence in the east is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Widely regarded as a Master Political Strategist, Tinubu has systematically diminished Obi’s strong influence by getting the Eastern governors to support his 2027 aspiration. One of the ways the president was able to achieve this was his strategy to warm his way into the hearts of the southeast governors.
The Southeast is considered the stronghold of Peter Obi, where he got almost 100 per cent of the votes from the region in the last election. The President himself has been busy making very strong alliances ahead of 2027. Those who have been following the political happenings closely will recall that President Tinubu, since his assumption of office, has tactically started the campaign for his second term. He has been building bridges across party lines, and there seems to be a special proximity between him and governors of the southeast states, particularly, the three states under the opposition.
On February 27, 2024, he was represented by the Vice President Kashim Shettima in visiting and commissioning projects in Abia State.
The President commended Governor Alex Oti, the only governor on the platform of the Labour Party, for his outstanding performance in transforming Abia State within such a short time in office. Similarly, the president was in Enugu in January and commended Governor Peter Mbah of the PDP after commissioning some projects.
On Thursday, May 8, the President was in Anambra, another southeast state under the control of the opposition. He appears to have the state in his bag already as Governor Soludo publicly endorsed his second term bid and declared that the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has adopted him as their consensus candidate in the 2027 election.
Interestingly, President Tinubu visited Abia State making it the second time he will be visiting the only Labour Party state in four months. While two of the five Southeast states, Imo and Ebonyi States, are currently under the control of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the president is getting closer to others for an alliance. The President made remarkable progress in his quest to win massive votes in the south east when he was crowned with the title of ‘Dike Si Mba’ of Anambra, which simply means ‘Hero from another land’.
Tinubu was given the title by the traditional ruler council of Anambra, the home state of Peter Obi, a major political opponent of the president, ahead of the 2027 election. Obi, who made history in the 2023 presidential election, has been a major critic of Tinubu administration and has positioned himself as a major political force in Nigeria. It is no secret that Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo and Peter Obi are not exactly good friends.
It must be a bit of a painful sight for Peter Obi to watch the President being celebrated right there in his home land. Without a doubt, Tinubu already has Soludo in his corner. And same for Governor Alex Otti of Abia State and Hope Uzodinma of Imo State. Even Ebonyi state is a done deal.
Not long ago, Alex Otti came out, yet again, to publicly acknowledge the reforms and economic policies of the president. And while he acknowledged that he was not planning to work for the re-election of the President come 2027, which he reminded the political class is still far away, he stated categorically that he supports the President’s policies, regardless of the fact that he belongs to the Labour Party.
Otti said, “When you talk about supporting President Tinubu, the President and I are very good friends and our friendship predates party politics and current positions; we agree on so many issues, and as it is natural, we know where we disagree. But, when you talk about the economy, what Mr. President is doing has always been my position for a long time,”
Otti recalled his columns at the back of Thisday Newspaper, some years back, especially during the Covid-19, where he made strong case for abolition of fuel subsidy.
He said:“So, it requires somebody with courage to remove that subsidy and I am in support of it. We have behaved in an irresponsible manner for a very long time. And, when you have years of irresponsible behaviour, the correction would be tough, difficult, and painful. It is the correction that we are going through now; if we don’t lose faith, we will eventually get it right.
So, talking about supporting the President, it’s a no-brainer; I will continue to support him because it is the same administration,” Gov. Otti declared.
No doubt, 2027 is still a fairly long way away, but there is nothing at the moment that suggests that the relationship between Peter Obi and the other eastern governors who do not support his aspiration to run for president come 2027 will get any better, if anything, the relationship might only get even more strained in the coming months. And if that is the case, then the south east is in for some dramatic results when Nigerians go to the polls in 2027.
