2027: It’s “Legally Impossible” For Obi To Return To LP And Contest Election — Usman
Akanni Toba
The Labour Party’s interim caretaker chairperson, Nenadi Usman, has said former governor of Anambra, Peter Obi’s exit from the party is for good.
Usman noted that it’s “legally impossible” for Obi to return to the LP and secure the party’s 2027 presidential ticket.
The LP chieftain spoke while featuring on Arise TV programme on Wednesday night.
She explained that the party’s rules and electoral guidelines frowns on allowing late entrants once the register of eligible participants has been closed and submitted to INEC.
“It will actually be too late for him to come back,” she said.
“At some point, we close the register, and once we close it 21 days before the primaries and submit the e-register to INEC, you can’t come from behind the door for us to register you and for you to contest. That would be legally impossible.”
Usman, however, acknowledged Obi’s role in bringing the LP from relative obscurity to the limelight, adding that his candidacy attracted widespread support.
“Peter Obi really took the party to great heights in 2023,” she said, adding that many current members, including herself, joined the LP because of him.
“He convinced me to come with him to the Labour Party. And not just me, many people joined because we believed in equity and fair play,” she stated,
The LP caretaker chairperson made these comments amid the leadership crisis which has polarised the party as each faction keeps filing legal suit against the other.
Recall that on Monday, the court of appeal in Abuja dismissed an appeal filed by Julius Abure, the LP’s factional chairman, seeking to overturn a previous ruling on the party’s leadership crisis.
In a judgment delivered by Oyejoju Oyewumi, the appellate court upheld the decision of the lower court, affirming that the leadership dispute had already been settled.
The court also ruled that the federal high court acted within its constitutional powers in directing INEC to recognise Usman as the party’s national chairperson.
Usman, however, said the opposing factions are are bent on destabilizing the party through the multiple litigations.
“It was a case to destabilise the party,” she said.
“You see one person filing nothing less than eight cases in eight different courts across eight different states, all seeking one relief. That is an abuse of court processes.”
She also stressed that no party can stand the test of time if it’s built on a person no matter how influential the individual is.
“We don’t want anybody to perpetuate themselves as chairman for life. Leadership in a political party has a tenure, you come, you go, but the party should remain,” she added.
Recall that Obi was the LP standard bearer in the 2023 general elections and he came third behind the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the President Bola Tinubu.
After the election, Obi defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to form coalition with other prominent politicians like former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, Atiku Abubakar, former Rivers governor, Rotimi Amaechi and a host of others.
Usman’s reaction was prompted by the growing speculation that Obi might find his way back to the LP amid the leadership crisis rocking the ADC which recently led to the deregistration of the opposition party by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
