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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The defection of some members of the Labour Party (LP) to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) has sparked outrage.
The Coordinator of Obidient Youth Ambassadors, Meche Oswald, in a statement yesterday, blamed the defections of elected members on the behaviour of individuals he described as self-seeking and power-hungry.
He also attributed the problem to a remark by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who had stated that the Obidient Movement “is not a directorate of any particular political party. Any individual or individuals claiming to be leaders of this non-existent directorate are simply not members of the broader Obidient Movement.
“There may be a youth mobilisation directorate in political parties, but the Obidient Movement is far beyond a particular political party.”
According to Oswald, Peter Obi’s assertion, albeit unintentional, implied that Obidients are at liberty to affiliate with any political party or group of their choice.
He linked Obi’s statement to the numerous defections of lawmakers elected under the LP to the ruling APC.
“Upon scrutinising the implications of Peter Obi’s statement, I am compelled to express my reservations regarding its potential consequences. In hindsight, I wish he had refrained from making that statement or, at the very least, sought counsel before sharing his thoughts.
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“This sentiment suggests that he does not believe the Obidient Movement should be tied to a single political party. I dare say that some individuals who defected from the Labour Party to the APC did so largely due to the perceived ambiguity in Obi’s statement.
“I had a conversation with one such individual that defected recently, a member of the Federal House of Representatives. He revealed that they were emboldened by Obi’s words, which they interpreted as a tacit endorsement of their decision to switch parties.”
Oswald maintained that Peter Obi’s tweets will hurt his political journey for a long time to come.
He further stated that Obi may have been acting under duress due to pressure from various quarters, especially the fear of the Director General of the LP Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration, Marcel Ngogbehei.
“In retrospect, I wish Peter Obi had given more thought to the potential repercussions of his statement before sharing it with the public. It is possible that he was acting under duress, given the immense pressure he faced from various quarters, including the fear of Marcel Ngogbehei.
“Marcel, unfortunately, became the target of unjustified vilification, and I hope to have the opportunity to share his story in the future.
“Just as I envisaged, most of the self-seeking, power-hungry individuals who forced Obi into making that statement have started joining other political parties. The latest brides are NRM and ADC.
“These duplicitous and depraved characters, parading themselves as Obidients and former members of the Labour Party, had a plan to pull down the Labour Party before moving on just because they couldn’t hijack control of the party,” Oswald noted.
