LP can win 2027 presidential poll without a coalition, says Obiora Ifoh

Obiora Ifoh, national publicity secretary of the Labour Party (LP), says the party can win the 2027 presidential election without entering a coalition with other political parties.

Recently, there have been speculations that the LP, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and other opposition parties may coalesce ahead of the 2027 election.

Rabiu Kwankwaso, ex-governor of Kano; Atiku Abubakar, a former vice-president; and Peter Obi, ex-governor of Anambra; contested the 2023 presidential election on different platforms — the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), PDP, and LP respectively.

The trio lost the election to Bola Tinubu, then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

On November 14, 2023, Abubakar asked opposition parties to form a coalition in a bid to prevent APC from “turning Nigeria into a one-party state”.

Since then, rumours have been rife that the trio might form an alliance to challenge Tinubu in 2027, a claim Kwankwaso has denied.

However, in an interview with PUNCH, Ifoh said the LP has widespread popularity and strong connection with Nigerians, which underscores its ability to independently challenge the ruling APC.

He added that the party has not been approached for coalition talks, but remains open to alliances with favourable terms, weighing merits and demerits.

“As it stands, Labour Party has not been approached or invited to any meeting whatsoever to discuss a coalition. What we see already is that people are thinking of alternatives and how best elections can be won in a landslide against the ruling APC,” Ifoh said.

“Labour Party didn’t need any coalition in 2023 when it gathered millions of votes from Nigerians who wanted Labour Party to take over the leadership of the nation. We will continue to say that the system played a trick on both Nigerians and Labour Party.

“We know LP has what it takes to win elections at the highest level and we demonstrated that in 2023. If elections were to hold again today, Labour Party would even do it in a bigger way because the government of the day has failed.

“Everything that Labour Party stands for and canvassed in 2023 is what Nigeria needs at the moment. So we do not even really need a coalition to win the election.

“The idea of a coalition is not bad. If Labour Party is approached, the party will look into it to scrutinise, see the merits and its demerits.

“Again, we only see individuals talking. The opposition parties have not called for any meeting or taken the initiative for discussion until when the time comes.”