By Abiola Olawale
The spokesman of the opposition coalition, the African Democratic Alliance(ADC), Bolajia Abdullahi, has addressed speculations surrounding the affiliation of the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi with the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Abdullahi, while speaking during an interview with Channels Television, emphasized that Obi remains a key figure in the ADC coalition.
According to him, Obi’s official membership in the ADC has been deferred due to his ongoing commitments to electoral processes within the Labour Party, where he contested the 2023 presidential election.
Abdullahi explained that Obi requested leave to complete these processes, including by-elections and the selection of governorship candidates, before fully transitioning to the ADC.
He revealed that the same courtesy was extended to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, another prominent figure in the coalition.
He said: “Peter Obi has been part of the coalition from day one. Peter Obi has attended almost every meeting of the alliance.
“The reason Peter Obi has not come into the ADC as a card-carrying member was because he asked for leave to allow him to complete the election that his people were involved in the Labour Party – the same thing applied to Mallam Nasir El-Rufai – and they were allowed by the leadership to complete the election processese that they started in their respective parties before they come into the ADC.”
This revelation is coming amid speculation about Obi’s commitment to the ADC. Despite his active involvement in the ADC-led opposition coalition, the former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate has not officially enlisted as a card-carrying member of the ADC.
It would be recalled that a former governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff, recently hinted that Obi would return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and vie for its ticket for the next poll.
Sheriff said Obi, who had indicated interest in running for the presidency in two years, may return to the PDP under whose platform he (Obi) ran as vice president in the 2019 election.
