Ohanaeze Faction Asks Obi to Shelve Presidential Ambition for Tinubu
A faction of the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has appealed to Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, to shelve his 2027 presidential ambition in favour of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second term bid.
The group cited national integration, equity, and peace as the basis for its plea.
Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Deputy National President of a faction of Ohanaeze, made the appeal on Wednesday in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital. He warned that it would be politically suicidal for Obi to challenge the incumbent, arguing that the South-East alone cannot make him president.
“Despite his massive online support, Obi’s 2027 bid faces imminent betrayal, and if that happens, Ndigbo will once again suffer the consequences, just as we did in 2019 and 2023,” Isiguzoro said. “Supporting Tinubu will be a more strategic and peaceful route for the South-East.”
He further pointed to the fracturing opposition and the ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who he said is still eyeing the presidency at the age of 81.
According to him, a divided opposition led by Obi and Atiku would split votes and ensure Tinubu’s reelection, leaving the South-East politically isolated.
“Obi’s constitutional right to contest is not in question, but realism must guide our choices. We must avoid another cycle of marginalisation,” he added.
The plea from Ohanaeze comes amid deepening turmoil within the Labour Party, which continues to be plagued by internal divisions over the Supreme Court’s April 4 ruling on the party’s leadership.
In a recent television appearance, LP’s 2023 vice presidential candidate, Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, acknowledged Julius Abure as the party’s national chairman in line with the Supreme Court’s ruling. “We are law-abiding citizens. INEC has recognised the Abure faction, and we accept that,” he said during an interview on Channels Television’s “The Morning Brief.”
Datti, who also attended the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Abure-led faction in Abuja on Monday, declared his intention to run for president in 2027. However, he said Obi was welcome to re-contest for the ticket, regardless of whether he would return as a running mate.
“There are two key individuals I have tremendous respect for; one is Peter Obi. I welcome him openly. LP welcomes him to come and retain the ticket and contest in 2027 with or without me,” he said, also extending an invitation to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to support a southern candidate.
Meanwhile, the leadership tussle within the LP took a fresh turn as rival factions continued to trade accusations.
The faction led by Senator Nenadi Usman, which claims legitimacy based on the court ruling, dismissed rumours of Obi’s potential expulsion from the party as “false and mischievous.” Ken Eluma Asogwa, media adviser to Usman, said the reports were the handiwork of “political jesters and impostors,” accusing them of spreading disinformation to disrupt Obi’s coalition-building efforts.
He stressed that Obi enjoys full support from the party leadership and pointed to a May 25 statement backing his efforts to form alliances ahead of 2027.
However, the Abure-led camp pushed back. In a counterstatement, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, accused Usman of twisting the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“The judgment only affirmed that the judiciary cannot interfere in internal party matters. It did not validate Usman’s claim to leadership,” Ifoh stated, insisting that the party had moved beyond litigation and was now focused on preparations for 2027. “Serious aspirants are already engaging with us. Let the wailers keep wailing; we’re moving forward,” he said.
As tensions simmer, political observers warn that the Labour Party risks going into the 2027 general election deeply fractured unless urgent reconciliation efforts are undertaken.
