…Kingibe, opposition senators join ADC
By Eshiorameh Sebastian in Abuja
Peter Obi will declare an alternative platform for the 2027 presidential race if he fails to secure the opposition coalition’s ticket, Yunusa Tanko, Director-General of the Obidient Movement, has revealed.
The stern declaration came on Monday during the second Annual Colloquium honoring Associate Professor Abdulmumin Ajia in Abuja, where Tanko served as Obi’s representative.
His statement escalates pressure on the fractious African Democratic Congress (ADC)-led coalition, which has struggled to unite behind a single candidate.
Tanko, however, guaranteed that Obi’s name would appear on the 2027 presidential ballot regardless of what comes out of the coalition.
His words: “Obi has already stated that he will contest in 2027, whether we get the coalition ticket or not,” Tanko said. “So, we are not even contemplating whether or not he will run. But when we get to that level, the platform will be revealed.”
The ADC coalition has been embroiled in internal disagreements, particularly over the zoning of its presidential ticket.
Key political figures, including Obi, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and ex-Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, are reportedly vying for the coalition’s endorsement.
Representing Obi at the event, Tanko urged the coalition leadership to zone the 2027 presidential ticket to the South in the interest of fairness and national unity.
“Why should we have a northerner again when we can easily allow the South to complete their tenure to promote unity and cohesiveness? Afterwards, our northern brothers can take up their eight years,” he argued.
He cautioned against repeating past political mistakes, subtly referencing the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election won by the late Moshood Abiola.
Tanko described Obi as a competent leader capable of transforming Nigeria and called on the coalition to rally behind him to avoid another historic blunder.
Meanwhile, Associate Professor Ajia, the event’s honoree, praised the ADC as a credible alternative to the ruling party.
“It is only a strong opposition, free from the direct and indirect influence of the ruling party, that can rescue Nigeria from what can best be described as the irony of a collapsing rich nation,” he said.
Meanwhile Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe, has announced her intention to officially defect from the Labour Party (LP) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), alongside other senators.
She made the revelation on Monday during an appearance as a guest on Arise News Prime Time, where she discussed the ongoing friction between her and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. Kingibe, who won the FCT senatorial seat under the Labour Party in 2023, described her decision to join the ADC as a “deliberate and strategic political move.”
“I am leaving the Labour Party, but I have not done so officially,” she said. “I will defect, and I will be defecting with other senators.”
This followed an earlier statement by her media office where she declared: “I’m totally and completely committed to ADC. But obviously, as the senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, don’t expect me to just take a lunch break and go collect a card. I want to do so with noise and fanfare.”
Kingibe expressed confidence in the leadership of her new party while acknowledging that the ADC is still in its developmental phase. “It’s something that is evolving,” she explained. “So you cannot say while your child is still crawling that you are not happy with how he’s going to run. You wait. We are growing.”
Responding to concerns about losing her Senate seat due to her defection, she maintained that the presence of two clear factions within the Labour Party validated her decision under constitutional rules.
“I ask you to please read the constitution. There are two factions, clear factions, of Labour Party,” she stated. “The perfect definition that the constitution gives for somebody to decamp without penalty applies in this case.”
She cited that even the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had received two sets of results and candidates from the LP during elections, further validating her claim. “Even INEC got two sets of results and candidates, though they didn’t accept any. So if you ask me to stay in Labour Party, which faction do you want me to stay in?”
Senator Kingibe maintained that her defection was both lawful and grounded in her respect for constitutional values. “If there were not two distinct factions of Labour Party, I would not presume to decamp, because that is unconstitutional. But they are. And this is the definition the constitution gave why it would be okay to decamp to anywhere I wanted to go. I just chose ADC,” she added.
The Labour Party, once a formidable opposition force following Peter Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign, has been embroiled in a leadership crisis since mid 2023. The party split into two factions, one led by Julius Abure and another by Lamidi Apapa, with both groups claiming legitimacy. Disputes over finances, candidate nominations, and party control have left the LP weakened.
A new faction led by Peter Obi and Abia State Governor, Alex Otti emerged recently to further deepen the crisis in the party.
At least five House of Representatives members have already left the party, and with Kingibe’s exit, more senators are expected to follow. The party’s active membership has reportedly declined by 32% according to NOIPolls data from 2024, with many members joining either the APC.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has been positioning itself as a viable alternative for disaffected opposition members.
ADC Chairman Ralphs Okey Nwosu has confirmed ongoing merger discussions with Peter Obi’s faction of Labour Party, aggrieved APC members led by Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi and Rauf Aregbesola, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and aggrieved PDP members, signaling the party’s ambition to emerge as a unified opposition front ahead of the 2027 elections.
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