Supporters of former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have reacted to Atiku Abubakar’s pledge not to step aside for any aspirant in his quest to secure the African Democratic Congress ticket for the 2027 presidential race. The Obidient Movement recently described Atiku’s position as “mind games,” and Nigerians have been reacting.
Speaking with the press, the National Coordinator of the group and Obi’s former campaign spokesman, Dr Yunusa Tanko, revealed that Peter Obi will never get involved in dollarized primaries and vote-buying.
According to him, Obi’s political ideology will always go against the norm of transactional politics that other politicians have normalised in Nigeria.
He stated that Obi will never go into a primary election where he has to buy out the delegates.
“I’m happy Atiku is saying what he has in mind. It shows there’s something we can hold him accountable for. But Peter Obi is willing to bring new political ideology into the system.
I can say it authoritatively that an Obi will never go into a primary election where he has to buy out the delegates. We know that is the norm in other camps.
It is a fact that in Nigeria of today, delegates in every primary are being purchased. It is even in dollars and not naira. And for those of us who want to give hope to the younger generation, who may not have stolen or receive so much money from governors’ purse, how do you encourage them?” he said.
The ADC, which was unveiled in July as the coalition platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027, has been struggling to get opposition figures like Obi, former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to formally join its ranks.
While some politicians have since crossed over, both Obi and El-Rufai have remained in their respective parties despite identifying with the coalition.
Obi recently said that he would not be stampeded into abandoning the Labour Party for the ADC until he is fully ready to take that step.
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