The Presidency has dismissed the recent defection of former presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, from the Labour Party to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), describing the move as politically hollow and driven by personal ambition rather than ideology.
In a strongly worded statement titled “IMPRISONED BY AMBITION: Welcome to 2027: Peter Obi’s Reckless Misreading of Politics and Power,” Presidential spokesman, Mr. Sunday Dare, said Obi’s latest political decision failed to generate the impact his supporters anticipated.
“If the recent decamping of Peter Obi from the Labour Party to the African Democratic Congress was intended to detonate like a political bombshell, it failed spectacularly,” Dare said. “What arrived instead was a dull thud—unremarkable, unsurprising, and terminally familiar. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
According to the spokesman, Obi’s entry into the ADC marked the exhaustion of a repetitive political pattern rather than the beginning of a new chapter.
“With his entry into the ADC, the plot does not evolve; it simply ends. All smoke. No fire,” he added.
Dare also criticised Obi for using the occasion to attack President Bola Ahmed Tinubu instead of offering clarity or policy direction, arguing that the President remains far superior in political depth and experience.
“Mr. Obi used the occasion not for clarity or restraint, but to fling predictable broadsides against a man who dwarfs him in political reach, institutional mastery, and historical consequence—Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the statement read.
He stressed that President Tinubu governs with focus and policy direction, not rhetoric or populism.
“This is a President who does not govern by tirade, who does not rely on subterfuge, and who does not court cheap populism as a substitute for policy,” Dare stated, adding that Obi “would have been better served by silence than by yet another performance dressed up as conviction.”
The Presidential aide accused the former Anambra State governor of prioritising provocation over substance, noting that such conduct reflects what he described as a deeper flaw in Nigeria’s political culture.
“Mr. Obi once again chose provocation over substance—an incendiary display that substitutes indignation for understanding and accusation for evidence,” Dare said. “This is not courage; it is habit.”
Tracing Obi’s political journey, Dare pointed to his movement across several political parties as evidence of a lack of ideological grounding.
“From APGA to PDP, from Labour to ADC, Mr. Obi has drifted across parties with the ease of a man unburdened by ideology or loyalty,” he said, describing political platforms as mere “vehicles to be boarded and abandoned at will.”
He further questioned Obi’s record in office, arguing that his tenure as governor was heavy on moral rhetoric but light on lasting institutional achievements.
“He spoke the language of prudence, but left behind little that could withstand rigorous scrutiny,” the statement noted.
On national discourse, Dare accused Obi of oversimplifying complex governance challenges, particularly in areas such as macroeconomic management, security, and public finance.
“Hard problems are flattened into slogans; structural constraints are moralized into personal failings,” he said. “This is not analysis—it is sophistry. Noise without knowledge. Certainty without comprehension.”
The spokesman also referenced the 2023 presidential election and the subsequent legal challenge, saying Obi misread public enthusiasm for electoral strength.
“He mistook social-media enthusiasm for nationwide structure, online applause for polling-unit presence, and moral grandstanding for electoral arithmetic,” Dare stated, stressing that politics is “built on organization, coalition, discipline, and data.”
Dare recalled that the Supreme Court faulted Obi’s failure to substantiate his claims during the election petition.
“To challenge an election without facts, without numbers, without preparation, is not principled opposition; it is political irresponsibility elevated to litigation,” he said.
Concluding the statement, the Presidential spokesman contrasted Obi’s political approach with what he described as President Tinubu’s record of governance and leadership.
“By contrast, President Tinubu offers focused leadership, measurable outcomes, and time-tested performance forged over decades of political engagement and executive responsibility,” Dare said.
He added that the political landscape ahead of the next general election is now clearer, declaring: “In that context, the political horizon is no longer murky. 2027 just got clearer. See you all in 2031.”