Former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, and his Kano State counterpart, Musa Kwankwaso, have met with leaders of the Democratic Congress (NDC) at its national secretariat in Abuja.
Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and Kwankwaso, who is also a former presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), arrived amid cheers from supporters.
The two leaders, who moved to the NDC from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), held a closed-door meeting with leaders of the NDC, led by a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, who is also the national leader of the party.
In a reflective message shared on his official X handle on Sunday, Obi announced his “decision to leave” the ADC ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
He cited a worsening political situation in the party, marked by internal crises, external interference, and growing hostility within party structures.
The former governor described Nigeria’s political space as increasingly toxic, where intimidation, insecurity, and persistent scrutiny have become the norm.
Clarifying his decision, Obi stated, “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.
“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.”
Kwankwaso had earlier denied any realignment in the ADC, insisting that no decision had been taken “yet”.
There has, however, been speculation of the two opposition leaders contesting the presidential election on a joint ticket.
