‘This is not the end’ — Obi hints at contesting 2027 presidential election

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, has hinted at contesting for the country’s number one position in 2027.

Obi spoke in Abuja on Monday while addressing a press conference.

He also said the judgement of the supreme court that upheld the victory of President Bola Tinubu has damaged the confidence that Nigerians have in the judiciary.

On October 26, the seven-member panel of the apex court in a unanimous decision dismissed the petitions of Obi and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging Tinubu’s victory in the February 25 election.

The former Anambra governor said Nigeria deserves dedicated and visionary leaders who will lead the country towards a brighter future.

“Nigerians who supported our cause have done so out of patriotism and their sincere conviction that our nation requires and deserves dedicated and visionary leaders who will lead Nigeria toward a brighter future,” Obi said.

“The energy and dedication of Nigerian youths and the Obedient movement have been simply amazing.

“I appreciate and salute them! I want to assure them that this is not the end of our journey, but in fact, the beginning. Nigeria heard you.

“The world has taken note and will not forget so easily. We shall endure, persist, until we get to our destination because a new Nigeria is our destination. A destination not an event.

“Going forward, we in the Labour Party and the Obidient movement are now effectively in opposition.

“We are glad that the nation has heard us loud and clear. We shall now expand the confines of our message of hope to the rest of the country.

“We shall meet the people in the places where they feel pain and answer their needs for hope.

“At marketplaces, motor parks, town halls, board rooms, and university and college campuses, we all carry and deliver the message of a new Nigeria. As stakeholders and elected Labour Party officials, we shall remain loyal to our manifesto.

“We will continue to canvas for good governance and focus on issues that promote national interest, unity, and cohesion.

“We will continue to give primacy to our constitution, the rule of law, and the protection of ordered liberties.

“We will offer the checks and balances required in a functional democracy and vie robustly in forthcoming elections to elect those who share our vision of a new Nigeria.

“Given our present national circumstances, there is a compelling need for a strong political opposition.

“We shall, therefore, remain in opposition, especially because of the policies and the governance modalities that we in the Labour Party campaigned for, especially reducing the cost of governance, moving the nation from consumption to production, reducing inflation, ending insecurity, promoting the rule of law, guaranteeing the responsibility to protect, and stabilizing the Nigerian currency; are clearly not the priorities of the present administration nor is it interested in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”