*I Remain In LP, Not Defecting With Obi, Says Otti
THE Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, along with other political leaders from the Southeast geopolitical zone, on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, officially declared for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) at a ceremony in Enugu, the Enugu State capital.
The defectors said after months of consultations, they decided to join ADC and collaborate with other opposition leaders from across the country to “rescue Nigeria from the poor governance of the All Progressives Congress (APC).”
Those present at the event include former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha; Senators Enyinnya Abaribe; Sam Egwu; Ben Obi; Victor Umeh; Tony Nwoye and Gilbert Nnaji; Onyema Ugochukwu; as well as several other senators and members of the House of Representatives.
Party leaders from across the country, including former senate president and National Chairman of ADC, David Mark; former Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal; former governors from the Southeast and other dignitaries.
At the ceremony, Obi said the move marked the beginning of the journey to rescue the country from the APC: “Today is an important day; today is the last day of 2025, so we are ending this year with the hope that, in 2026, we will begin a journey of the rescue of our country for proper socio-economic development that will be unifying and inclusive.
“We have all watched those who benefited from our democracy, sometime now, become accessories to destroying our democracy, either through coercion and gangsterism against the opposition. We cannot allow this to happen, we will resist it. We’ll resist rigging in 2027.”
He said the opposition will resist any attempt to rig the 2027 elections, warning the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to strictly follow the rules and regulations.
“We are saying that those who are planning to rig elections in Nigeria come 2027, we will resist it by every means lawful and legitimate. This happens because we have weak institutions like the INEC, which we are urging to act properly in the coming election.
“We must do whatever it takes to follow the rules and regulations, starting from educational qualification for eligibility to contest or seek any election.
“We can no longer be in a situation where they are asking whether this person went to school or not. We have one year now to determine who went to school and who didn’t go to school.”
The former Anambra State governor stressed the need for unity among the opposition, saying Nigeria needs competent leadership to turn the tide of current disunity in the country.
“This decision is guided solely by patriotism and national interest. I now respectfully call on my political associates, the Obidient Movement and opposition leaders across the country to join this broad national coalition under the African Democratic Congress.
“History will not forgive silence in moments of national peril.
“With over 130 million Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty and more than 80 million youths unemployed, our people are in persistent agony.
“This is not the destiny God bequeathed to over 220 million Nigerians. Nigeria is looted into poverty.
“As a nation, we are not poor; we are looted into poverty. Nigeria is not broken; Nigeria is severely betrayed. The average Nigerian is not lazy or incompetent, but the system is rigged to reward mediocrity and recycle failure.”
He accused the political elite of deliberately exploiting ethnic and religious divisions to remain in power, adding: “Their expertise lies in creating more divisions to sustain themselves in office, with little or no interest in unity or inclusive development.”
Obi criticised the Federal Government’s tax reforms, describing them as anti-people and economically counterproductive, and reports of a forged tax law as a dangerous precedent, noting: “A tax regime founded on forgery cannot build trust, unity or prosperity.”
Obi joins other politicians, such as Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, Nasir El-Rufai, etc, who earlier in the year declared for the ADC.
Meanwhile, Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has ruled out leaving the LP, saying he had decided to remain in the party to help rebuild and reposition it.
Otti said Obi had personally informed him of his intention to dump the party and that he had no objection to the decision, but stressed that his own political path would be different.
He stated: “If you remember, I joined the Labour Party before Peter Obi, so I did not join the party with him. He has communicated to me that he is leaving the Labour Party. I gave him my blessings.
“But I will remain in the Labour Party, and I told him that I would continue the struggle to rescue the Labour Party.”
The governor described LP as the platform that brought him to office and his loyalty remained with the party for now, adding: “That is the party that brought me to power. If we fight and get to the end, and we are able to reposition the Labour Party, then we can discuss other options.
“Therefore, for now, I am not defecting to any party.”
On recent calls by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, to join the All Progressives Congress (APC), Otti said he was not interested in being drawn into political distractions.
