Labor Party's 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi has formally joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC), dropping a bombshell that inspired political leaders in the Southeast to join the party to contest the 2027 general elections.
Speaking at the event marking his defection, Obi sharply criticized Nigeria's ruling elite, warning that the country was moving dangerously towards collapse and could no longer survive on politics as usual.
He described Nigeria as a nation in crisis, insisting that unity and integrity in leadership is now a matter of survival, not of choice.
Obi called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to thoroughly investigate the qualifications of candidates before future elections, saying, “We cannot have a country where people who cannot tell what school they attended are made to rule over us, and the court will say it is a pre-election matter.”
Nigeria is not a poor country. We were looted and pushed into poverty,” Obi said, adding that criminality has been normalized under the regime.
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According to them, we have now become a crime scene. We are called a bad nation.
The former governor of Anambra State also questioned economic policies which in his view punish the poor.
“How can you tax people who are not productive? You cannot raise revenue when people are poor,” he argued, recalling a visit to internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, adding that many in the government are afraid to admit it.
Attendees at the event included ADC National President David Mark; former governor of Imo State, Achike Udenwa; Okwesilize Nwodo, former governor of Enugu State; Chief Onyeama Ugochukwu; Senators Ben Obi, Enyanya Abaribe, Tony Nwoye and Victor Umeh, along with several Southeast leaders.
Obi concluded with a stern warning that Nigerians can no longer afford indifference.
“We cannot sit, wait and leave ourselves to die,” he said.
He urged citizens and political stakeholders to come together unitedly to save the country from further decline.
At the event the Southeast leaders adopted a motion by Emeka Ihedioha that Southeast leaders should join the ADC as a platform to reconnect the region with the centre.
