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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
The Julius Abure-led leadership of the Labour Party has described the decision to grant Peter Obi the party’s 2023 presidential ticket as a “grave political error.”
This position followed Obi’s former defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, months after contemplating.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said Obi’s exit marked the party’s “final liberation” from a crisis it accused the former presidential candidate of orchestrating.
According to the party, it had effectively parted ways with Obi and some of his supporters as far back as September 2024.
Obiora accused them of anti-party activities and an inability to work with the party’s leadership structure.
“The party had patiently waited for this day. Obi’s defection came long after the leadership had advised him and his loyalists to leave if they could not align with party discipline,” he said.
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The Abure-led faction further accused Obi and Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, of sponsoring an internal rebellion against the party leadership, describing it as the root cause of the prolonged crisis within the Labour Party.
Obiora also expressed surprise that Governor Otti had not followed Obi out of the party, despite being suspended, urging him to “follow his political leader.”
Reacting to Obi’s defection rally in Enugu, the Party claimed the event was largely boycotted by prominent political actors and traditional institutions in the South-East, arguing that it exposed what he described as the declining political influence of the former presidential candidate.
The party further blamed Obi’s 2023 presidential ambition for what it described as the South-East’s political marginalisation under the current administration, citing what it called inadequate ministerial representation and limited infrastructure allocation to the region.
“We gave Nigerians a candidate we believed was suitable at the time, but events have shown that we made a serious political miscalculation.
“We appeal to Nigerians for forgiveness,” Obiora added.
The party assured Nigerians that it was repositioning and working towards presenting “a more credible and nationally acceptable leadership alternative” ahead of future elections.
