The Abure-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) says it regrets building the party’s 2023 presidential campaign around Peter Obi, accusing him of betraying the party’s ideology by aligning with a new political coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Ayo Olorunfemi, deputy national chairman of the party, made the remark during an interview with ARISE News today.
Olorunfemi said Obi’s participation in the ADC-led coalition, which includes several opposition figures from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC), amounts to a rejection of the very principles that brought him to LP in the first place.
“We take exception to somebody we gave a platform to, someone who claimed to represent a new brand of politics, now joining forces with the same people who destroyed the country,” Olorunfemi said.
He described the coalition as a “conglomeration of power mongers,” saying no genuine reform can emerge from a group made up of “recycled, desperate, and frustrated politicians.”
Olorunfemi insisted that Labour Party’s structure remains intact without Obi, and that the former Anambra governor never built the party.
“Obi didn’t make the Labour Party, he joined when the party was already solid. Now that he’s left, others are returning in large numbers. This time, we are building around ideology, not individuals,” he added.
He said the party has restructured its youth wing, formerly known as the ‘Obidient’ movement, into the “Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration” to reflect a broader, ideology-driven vision.
Olorunfemi disclosed that LP will field a younger, more credible candidate in 2027, someone under 60 years old with a track record of excellence and no history of public fund misappropriation.
“We learned. We won’t make that mistake again,” he said.
He also accused Obi of evading a formal resignation from the party, warning that LP would take action if he failed to do so.
“If Peter Obi refuses to do a letter to that effect, his exit, we will do it for him,” Olorunfemi stated.
