Bwala: Peter Obi won’t run for president on LP ticket — he’ll soon join APC

Daniel Bwala, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on media and policy, has claimed that Peter Obi, Labour Party’s (LP) 2023 presidential candidate, will soon leave the party.

Speaking in an interview on TVC on Wednesday, Bwala said the former governor of Anambra state will join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 elections.

“Do you know we are emptying the Labour Party? Not because we are asking them to come. Valentine Ozigbo has joined us, Balami has joined us, even Peter Obi will join us,” Bwala said.

“Peter Obi will not run in the Labour Party. For Valentine Ozigbo to come to our party — Valentine Ozigbo is actually the custodian of Peter Obi — then I know for a fact that Peter Obi will join us.”

‘EL-RUFAI’S DEFECTION A MEDIA STRATEGY’

Bwala described the defection of Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna state, from the APC to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as “insignificant”.

He accused the SDP of orchestrating weekly announcements to dominate news headlines.

“You see, after one or two weeks of this mini-dramatic activity — because the way they scheme these things is that every week, you will hear a breaking news story that ‘a gladiator has joined SDP’ — so they will dominate the media space,” he said.

“By the time the two weeks is over and they are able to enjoy this momentary coverage, when they sit down they’ll start fighting over who will be president or vice-president.

“The reason El-Rufai did not go to the PDP is because he can’t dictate things there, but he told the world that the chairman of SDP is his friend. So they went there because they want to dictate.”

El-Rufai announced his departure from the APC on Monday, citing “conflicting values” with the ruling party.