Peter Obi not contemplating leaving LP, says Yunusa Tanko

Yunusa Tanko, spokesperson of the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign council, says Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 polls, is not thinking of dumping the party. 

Tanko, who spoke during a chat with TheCable on Friday, said Obi remains a solid member of the LP and has not discussed forming a new political party with anyone.

The LP has been enmeshed in controversy before, during and after the general election, with many supporters of Obi, known as ‘Obidients’, calling on him to leave and form a new party.

They have vowed to follow him to wherever he decides to pitch tent.

Julius Abure, the national chair of the LP, was on Wednesday arrested by the police in Edo state for “attempted murder, illegal possession of a firearm, and other offences”.

In his reaction to the arrest, Obi warned that no pretext should be deployed to stifle opposition in the country, and demanded that Abure be granted bail given his status, while investigation of the alleged offences continue apace.

Asked if Obi is leaving the party, Tanko said Obi remains a strong member of the LP and has been defending the party as best he could.

“Not at all. At the moment, he is not contemplating leaving the Labour Party,” he said.

“His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi, is trying to build a platform that accommodates everybody. There is no doubt he has added credibility and purposefulness to the Labour Party.

“Right now, he has not said anything about leaving the party anytime soon. Even if there is such a motive, we would have been intimated.

“He has been defending the LP as strongly as he can. As far as we are concerned, if there are issues within the party, all we need to do is a clean-up and make corrections as soon as possible.”

On the subject of a merger, Tanko said Obi is ready to join forces with anyone who believes in rescuing the country from its current morass.

“The idea of Peter Obi is that we should all join forces with everybody who believes in rescuing Nigeria,” Tanko added.

“If you believe in the mantra of a new Nigeria, you are welcome to join whichever movement His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi, is doing.”