Segun Sowunmi says Peter Obi has turned out to be his
‘greatest disappointment’ due to his perceived receptiveness to the coalition
movement spearheaded by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and other
opposition figures in the country.
Obi, who dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2022 for
the Labour Party, where he was presented as the 2023 presidential candidate,
has become a political force in Nigeria.
Despite coming third with over six million votes in the 2023
presidential election, Obi commands a massive following among the youth
nationwide.
However, as Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general election,
opposition politicians, including Obi, are making moves to boost their chances.
To wrest power from the ruling party in 2027, former Vice
President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is championing a coalition of opposition
figures to come under one party that’ll sweep the All Progressives Congress out
of power.
According to reports, Atiku proposed Obi as his running mate
for the coalition, promising that the former governor of Anambra State would
succeed him.
Even though Atiku is a PDP leader, there are indications
that he may dump the party for the coalition he spearheads.
In their recent meeting, opposition politicians set up a
team to decide whether to float a new party or fuse into an existing platform.
Meanwhile, the PDP Governors have rejected the Atiku-led
coalition, insisting that the movement must be party-driven.
Also, Sowunmi, a longstanding ally of the former Vice
President, has expressed dissatisfaction with his principal’s move, stressing
that the PDP has to be the base of the coalition.
He also labelled the coalition movement a selfish adventure
to favour a set of politicians.
In his bid to save the PDP, Sowunmi recently called on the
party’s leadership to bring Obi back to the party.
The PDP chieftain also warned Obi against the coalition,
saying the politicians in the movement are only interested in taking advantage
of his popularity for the 2027 general elections.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime
Time’, Sowunmi said he was disappointed in Obi because he failed to take
advantage of his popularity by aligning with the main opposition force in the
country.
“My greatest disappointment as we are getting ready for 2027
is actually Peter. The reason is that I had hoped in all of his seriousness
that Peter will understand that we can move and challenge the status quo, not
the way he’s been doing it all by himself. We could do that just to be able to
take the outcome, even if it’s a defeat, we’ll say we gave it the best push,
and we shattered the glass ceilings and united the country because there’s no
glass ceiling on top of the South East. You made one effort and then the next
thing you’re doing you started running up and down the street,” Sowunmi said.
The PDP chieftain said he told Obi that if he failed to make
up his mind by May 29, he would be inclined to declare his support for
President Tinubu in the next election.
His words: “ I told him many months before that if your mind
is not made up by May 29 this year on what you want to do, I’m going to be more
inclined to support Asiwaju. And the simple reason is this, I told him Peter,
the benefits that we have done now by integrating you as someone that can be
leader of the Igbo political force, and in a pan Nigerian environment, I do not
think throw it away but it’s your call, if you want to do that all this
coalition this, coalition that. I’m thinking that you’re bringing a new order.”
Although it is not clear if Obi has officially joined the
Atiku-led coalition, he has been seen attending the movement’s meetings.
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