The Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) has described Peter Obi’s defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a “liberation” for the party
Obi, the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, officially left the LP on Wednesday to join the coalition-backed ADC.
In a statement, Obiora Ifoh, the factional national publicity secretary, said the move was long overdue and formalised a political separation that had effectively taken place months earlier amid the party’s ongoing leadership crisis.
“The leadership of the Labour Party took note of the defection of its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and a few of his supporters to the African Democratic Congress,” the statement read. “We also took note of the lacklustre speech Obi made at the occasion and wondered what new things he intends to sell to Nigerians.”
Ifoh explained that the party had already parted ways with Obi and some of his allies in the National Assembly since September 2024. “For us in the Labour Party, we wondered why it took them this long to make the move. We have patiently waited for this day. The party is finally liberated by this defection, and, as party leaders, we count it as a blessing,” he said.
The spokesperson added that the party had repeatedly urged Obi and his loyalists to leave if they could not cooperate with the Abure-led leadership. “It will be on record that the leadership of the Labour Party had long urged Obi and his disgruntled followers to exit the party if they were unable to work with the leadership. As a matter of fact, the party had suspended many lawmakers for anti-party activities and was clearly going to mete out the same treatment to the presidential candidate but for the intervention of some well-meaning Nigerians,” Ifoh said.
Ifoh also alleged that Obi and Abia Governor Alex Otti had been fuelling internal divisions within the party. “We had expected Governor Otti to follow Obi out of the party. We are surprised that even though he has been suspended, he is still loitering around. It is still not too late for him to follow his political leader,” he said.
He further criticised the defection event in Enugu, claiming it was largely boycotted by prominent political and traditional figures in the southeast. “All we saw were mere spent political forces who cannot win in their wards should there be an election today,” Ifoh added.
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