The National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party (LP), Abayomi Arabambi, has emphatically declared that Peter Obi will not be automatically awarded the party’s presidential ticket for the 2027 election.
Speaking during a broadcast of Channels Television’s Lunchtime Politics on Monday, Arabambi asserted: “We are going to do our 2027 without Peter Obi; he will not have our ticket.”
The spokesman accused both the party’s Acting National Chairperson, Nenadi Usman, and activist Aisha Yesufu of conspiring with Obi to undermine the party’s interests.
Arabambi labelled them “an epitome of political extremism”, and warned that steps will be taken to remove them from positions of influence.
Further underlining his point, Arabambi challenged Obi’s loyalty to the LP, stating: “Obi has one leg in Labour Party, one leg in PDP, and one leg in ADC.”
He went on: “If he believes he can get seven million votes in 2027, we advise him to pronounce his departure from the Labour Party.”
Arabambi dismissed suggestions that Obi was the principal force behind the LP’s rising momentum during the 2023 elections.
Instead, he attributed the surge to broader societal frustrations, saying: “Obi was just a man who came to whip as a result of Nigeria’s tiredness of the scandalous administration of Buhari during the EndSARS. He only found the Labour Party as that vehicle that can provide that change, and he was just opportuned to be the head.”
Recent months have seen escalating tensions within the Labour Party, marked by contested leadership.
The Abure-led faction of the LP, headed by National Chairman Julius Abure, has consistently maintained that the party’s 2027 ticket is open to all qualified contestants, not automatically reserved for Obi.
A statement issued on 26 May 2025 declared: “The presidency for 2027 is open to anyone who wants to run under the platform of the party.” It specifically emphasised that “Automatic ticket is not one of the routes.”
Similarly, in July 2025, Arabambi reiterated: “There shall be primary elections in the Labour Party, and no aspirant will be favoured this time around.”
He described Obi’s previous selection as a “blunder with lasting consequences” and confirmed: “The Labour Party presidential ticket is now open to all Nigerians.”
Furthermore, factional National Secretary Umar Farouk Ibrahim cautioned that “no individual has an automatic claim to the party’s presidential ticket.”
He added that, should Obi persist in associating with other political entities, he may risk disqualification.
According to him, “There’s no way you’ll continue to romance with other political parties and then still come back with one leg in the Labour Party … you may be disqualified.”
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