The Labour Party (LP) has declared its full support for the participation of its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the newly formed opposition coalition led by former Senate President David Mark.
This endorsement comes amid internal discord within the party, as rival factions attempt to challenge Obi’s role in the broader political alliance aiming to unseat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Acting National Chairman of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman, through her aide Ken Asogwa, rebuked the group led by Julius Abure, labeling them as “political jesters” lacking any legitimate claim to party leadership. Usman asserted that the Abure faction had been effectively expelled from the party and stripped of legal standing following a Supreme Court judgment and internal disciplinary actions.
“These individuals who are now giving ultimatums and sowing discord are no longer members of our party in any official capacity,” Usman declared. “Their continued posturing as leaders is both misleading and contemptuous of the law.”
She emphasized that the Labour Party had openly sanctioned Obi’s engagement in the coalition efforts, reaffirming that the former Anambra governor acted with the full endorsement of the party leadership. “For the avoidance of doubt,” she noted, “the leadership of the Labour Party, on May 26, 2025, publicly declared its full support for Mr. Obi’s involvement in the coalition efforts aimed at creating a robust political alternative to rescue Nigeria from the disastrous misrule of the APC. That position has not changed.”
The statement further underscored that Obi’s presence at the official unveiling of the coalition, held in Abuja on Wednesday, had been “done with the full knowledge, approval, and support” of the LP leadership. Usman insisted that efforts to delegitimize the coalition or Obi’s role in it were being driven by a discredited group that had already been removed from the party’s internal structures due to “serial acts of indiscipline and anti-party activities.”
The Abuja meeting, which served as the launch event for the coalition’s political platform, saw the adoption of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the unified vehicle for contesting the 2027 general elections. At the gathering, David Mark was introduced as the interim national chairman, with former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola named interim national secretary.
Prominent figures across Nigeria’s opposition spectrum were in attendance, signaling a rare display of unity among political rivals. Alongside Peter Obi were former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, and other key personalities such as Dino Melaye, Solomon Dalong, Dele Momodu, Gabriel Suswam, Senator Ireti Kingibe, Emeka Ihedioha, and retired Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
Usman concluded her statement by urging the public and media to disregard distractions from the “discredited elements” still parading themselves as LP leaders. “It is the remnants of the disorder and mess left behind by these impostors that the current leadership under Senator Nenadi Usman continues to clean,” she said.
What You Should Know
- On July 3, 2025, LP’s Acting Chairman Nenadi Usman endorsed Peter Obi’s role in the ADC-led opposition coalition for 2027, approved by the party on May 26.
- Usman rejected Julius Abure’s faction, citing their Supreme Court dismissal and suspension for anti-party actions, calling their ultimatum to Obi baseless.
- The coalition, unveiled July 2 at Yar’Adua Centre, includes Atiku, El-Rufai, Amaechi, and others, with Mark and Aregbesola as interim leaders.
- The ADC was adopted after INEC stalled the All Democratic Alliance, aiming to challenge APC’s governance under Tinubu.
- Internal LP and PDP tensions, including candidacy debates, pose challenges for the coalition’s unity ahead of 2027.
