As the African Democratic Congress (ADC) prepares for its much-awaited national convention, Peter Obi, a member of the party, has defended why he left the Labour Party (LP) that presented him the platform to contest in the 2023 presidential election, saying he left due to discriminatory issues and his refusal to be among those who participate in “transactional politics”, news.ng reports.
Obi, who appeared on Arise Television’s political and current affairs programme, Prime Time, said he left the Labour Party, as well as his first party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), due to a rift with his successor, Willie Obiano, which later became toxic.
He said: “I moved from APGA to the PDP because I had what I can call discriminatory issues with my successor, the governor who came after me. And now they allow it to become toxic and become destructive to his governance of the state. I moved out.”
While he was in the PDP, the former Governor of Anambra State alleged that the party’s internal democracy was defective.
“In PDP, I said it before, people were not playing by the rules. It was transactional. I cannot be part of transactional problems. I cannot be paying people to go and solve them,” Obi said.
On issues regarding the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties, and the courts, the ADC chieftain blamed the rot in the system, which he said will eventually lead to political instability and a lack of trust.
He said, “You just said about INEC saying they’re obeying court order. In Labour Party, the Supreme Court decided a case in April. INEC did not recognise that judgement until 7th of January, eight months after.”
While many have criticised his frequent political alignment and realignment, he responded by saying that he is guided by his principles, asserting that if it becomes necessary for him to leave his current party, ADC, he would do so.
“You even see people who will be on the rooftop shouting, saying if Peter Obi cannot fix the problem in Labour, because they put fire in the house, and they were shouting that I was able to escape,” he said. If I have to move… even if I have to do it 20 times, I’ll do it exactly. I will not be part of the same thing,” he noted.
