The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has urged Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, to make up his mind on whether he intends to join the party or not.
The party maintained that the former Governor of Anambra
won’t be pressured into membership despite his influence within its coalition.
Obi had on Wednesday expressed concerns that the ADC-led
coalition was “faltering” due to unresolved issues around zoning and rotation
of key political offices.
He nonetheless voiced confidence in the leaders steering the
process, including former Senate President David Mark and ex–Vice President
Atiku Abubakar.
Reacting, Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC spokesperson, in an
interview, said the coalition had not reached the stage where zoning should be
considered, stressing that its immediate priority is presenting itself as a
credible political alternative to Nigerians.
“We’re not talking about zoning or no zoning now. Nigerians
are still waiting for us to tell them what we will do differently. So, zoning
or no zoning is not on the table now. If that is the condition for Obi to join
us, maybe he should wait till that time,” he said.
Abdullahi encouraged Obi to reach a clear decision on his
political alignment ahead of the 2027 polls.
“I understand what Peter has been saying. But I will
encourage him to make up his mind if he wants to be part of the coalition or
not. The most important thing for us is how we can convince Nigerians that we
represent the credible alternative, and this is without prejudice to where the
candidate will come from,” Abdullahi said.
He added that while the party values Obi’s contributions,
its development agenda remains paramount.
“For us, we want Peter Obi to join us in building a
political party that can reset Nigerian politics and provide a credible
alternative. But if zoning is the condition on which he continues to assess the
coalition, he should probably wait until we get to that point,” the ADC
spokesperson insisted.
Addressing Obi’s earlier comments describing the coalition
as unstable, Abdullahi disagreed, insisting the movement remains firm.
“It’s unfortunate that he used a word like unstable, because
instability is not contingent on whether we are able to make certain decisions
on zoning at this point. We are stable. Within five months, we have offices in
27 or 28 states without a single political officeholder. That’s a major
achievement,” he stated.
He urged Obi to contribute more actively to party-building
efforts, especially in Anambra State.
“We want him to be part of our journey. We want him to be
part of building the party,” he added.
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