Multiple party officials and close allies of Mr Peter Obi say the 2023 presidential flag-bearer of the Labour Party (LP) is preparing to announce his departure within days, DAILY GAZETTE can report.
Sources told our correspondent that Mr Obi has grown increasingly frustrated with what he calls “entrenched factionalism” in the party’s National Working Committee and the protracted legal battle between Barr Julius Abure and Senator Nenadi Usman.
“The endless litigation has paralysed our organising machinery and betrayed the promise of a genuine third force,” a confidant quoted Obi as saying during a private strategy session in Lagos on Saturday.
According to two officials at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr Obi’s legal team this week requested certified guidelines for registering a new political association, an initial step toward full party registration.
Talks are said to be well advanced with the National Consultative Front (NCFront), several youth-led pressure groups, and a handful of disaffected lawmakers currently in the LP, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP).
Insiders say the working name for the platform is Progress Nigeria Movement, although that could change before registration.
Speaking to DAILY GAZETTE over the phone, Labour Party National Chairman, Barr. Julius Abure insisted the door remained open for reconciliation:
“We fought side by side in 2023, and we can still resolve any misgivings. We have asked Mr Obi to reconsider and help us reposition the party rather than walk away.”
Members of the Apapa faction, however, welcomed the prospect of Obi’s exit, claiming it would “restore ideological clarity.”
Mr Obi’s spokesperson, Dr Yunusa Tanko, neither confirmed nor denied the imminent defection:
“What I can tell you is that His Excellency remains committed to building a credible alternative that places Nigerians first. We will communicate definitive steps very soon.”
Analysts say a fresh party could upend early calculations for the next presidential cycle, particularly if the new bloc secures a merger with Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s supporters or other regional kingmakers.
“Obi still commands the youth vote in the South-East and major urban centres,” noted political scientist Dr. Zainab Okoye.
“If he couples that with cross-regional endorsements, the ruling APC and the PDP will face a true three-horse race.”
