Supporters of the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi — known as the Obidients — have vowed to resist any attempt to block him from contesting in the 2027 elections.
The statement comes in response to comments by Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser on Policy Communication to President Bola Tinubu, who claimed during a Channels Television interview on Wednesday that Obi would not secure the presidential ticket of any political party in 2027.
Bwala alleged the former Anambra governor had lost half of his 2023 voter base and suggested he might only serve as Director-General for the African Democratic Congress in a coalition arrangement. He further predicted that Tinubu could secure up to two million votes from the South East in 2027.
But Dr Chibuzor Obiesili, a member of the Abia State Coordinating Council Collegiate of the Obidients Movement, dismissed Bwala’s claims as “wishful thinking and empty political hallucination.” He described Bwala’s remarks as suspicious and challenged the presidency “to come clean” on whether it intends to influence party primaries.
“Obi’s support and followership are not only intact but swelling nationwide,” Obiesili said, adding that the movement had grown stronger in states and regions where support was previously low.
He warned that any attempt to undermine Obi’s 2027 ambition would be “stoutly resisted” and insisted that the former governor remains “the most presidential material” in Nigeria.
Obiesili also accused the presidency of making “false claims” about Tinubu’s potential 2027 votes in the South East, arguing that the region overwhelmingly rejected the president in 2023 and had seen no improvement in living conditions since.
“The Obidients Movement is a national project to rescue Nigeria from political hijackers,” he said. “It is blind to tribe, religion or culture, and all patriotic citizens who believe in Nigeria are queuing behind it.”
