LP: We are not celebrating Peter Obis comment over 2027 because he’s unsure of his direction

We are not celebrating Peter Obis comment over 2027 because he’s unsure of his direction

The Labour Party (LP) leadership has refuted claims that it is celebrating Peter Obi’s reported declaration to contest the 2027 presidential election under its banner, saying the former presidential candidate appears uncertain about his political direction.

In a statement issued on Monday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiorah Ifoh, on behalf of the National Chairman, Julius Abure, the LP dismissed media reports suggesting jubilation within the party over Obi’s remarks.

According to the statement, Obi’s recent comments to a group of young supporters captured in a video circulating on the party’s WhatsApp platform do not signal a formal commitment to the Labour Party’s future political strategy.

In the video, when asked if he intended to run again on the LP platform, Obi responded: “I will still continue to run in the Labour Party. I’m a member of the Labour Party.”

However, the party noted that this declaration, rather than uniting the party around a clear 2027 vision, may have undermined ongoing efforts to build a broader coalition capable of challenging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the next election cycle.

“The impression created that the party is celebrating Obi’s statement is misleading and does not reflect the current sentiment within the Labour Party.

“First, while we are not opposed to anybody running under the platform of the Labour Party in the 2027 general elections, we need to make it categorically clear that the party has a long standing rule on how its candidates shall emerge and automatic ticket is not one of the routes.
“Recall that at the party’s National Convention in 2024, the party had erroneously granted automatic tickets to our former presidential candidate and the only governor of the party. However, that decision has since been rescinded and reversed after consulting the statute books.
“Second, His Excellency, Peter Obi, hours after he spoke of his intention to run under the Labour Party, was on Sunday seen in a meeting of a pro-coalition group in Abuja without the permission and consent of the Labour Party leadership.
“This to us is really confusing and we think that Peter Obi has not come to terms with his intentions for the 2027 presidential race,” Ifoh said.
He said the party had consistently said that Labour Party would not go into any coalition or merger of any sort ahead of 2027 general elections, noting that Obi’s continued association with the coalition was not only distasteful but unacceptable to the party.