The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, and a former governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, have formally joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
The two political figures were officially registered as members of the party on Sunday at its national secretariat in Abuja, where they were issued membership cards in the presence of party officials and supporters.
Footage from the event showed Kwankwaso receiving his membership card first, followed by Obi, as attendees looked on.
Their defection comes amid a series of political consultations and follows Obi’s earlier resignation from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), as well as Kwankwaso’s recent disclosure that he had been engaged in “wide-ranging consultations” with the NDC.
Earlier on Sunday, both leaders held a closed-door meeting with key party figures at the Abuja residence of the NDC National Leader and former Bayelsa State governor, Senator Seriake Dickson. The meeting, which took place at his residence in Guzape, is believed to be part of ongoing efforts to consolidate opposition forces and build a formidable coalition ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Obi and Kwankwaso arrived at the venue at about 5:18 p.m. to a rousing welcome from supporters of the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, who chanted “O-K is okay” as the leaders entered the premises.
In a statement earlier on Sunday, Obi attributed his resignation from the ADC to what he described as a “toxic” political environment marked by internal crises, endless court cases, and divisions, which he said were reminiscent of the challenges that forced his exit from the Labour Party.
“Let me state clearly: my decision to leave the ADC is not because our highly respected Chairman, Senator David Mark, treated me badly, nor because my leader and elder brother, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other respected leaders did anything personally wrong to me. I will continue to respect them,” he stated.
“However, the same Nigerian state and its agents that created unnecessary crises and hostility within the Labour Party that forced me to leave now appear to be finding their way into the ADC, with endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and division, instead of focusing on deeper national problems and playing politics built more on control and exclusion than on service and nation-building.”
Obi also maintained that he is not desperate for political office but remains committed to the vision of a better Nigeria founded on justice, compassion, and equal opportunity.
According to him, “Let me assure all that I am not desperate to be President, Vice President, or Senate President. I am desperate to see a society that can console a mother whose child has been kidnapped or killed while going to school or work. I am desperate to see a Nigeria where people will not live in IDP camps but in their homes. I am desperate for a country where Nigerian citizens do not go to bed hungry, not knowing where their next meal will come from.”
