The Labour Party (LP) has officially announced that its 2027 presidential ticket is open to all interested aspirants, vowing that no candidate will be given preferential treatment.
This was disclosed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, during a press briefing held in Abuja on Friday.
Arabambi stated unequivocally that the era of handpicking candidates is over, and the party would conduct transparent primary elections to select its flagbearer for the next general election.
“There shall be primary elections in the Labour Party, and no aspirant will be favoured this time around,” he declared.
In the 2023 presidential election, the Labour Party fielded Mr Peter Obi as its candidate. Obi, who enjoyed widespread support, especially among young Nigerians and urban voters, came third in the polls according to results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He won in 12 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
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However, Obi has since aligned himself with a coalition movement under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), where he has indicated his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election. Despite remaining a formal member of the LP, his move to join the ADC coalition has raised eyebrows within his former party.
Arabambi did not mince words in criticising Obi’s candidacy in 2023, describing it as a “blunder” that carried long-lasting consequences.
“The selection of Peter Obi in 2023 was a mistake and a betrayal of Nigerians, the Labour Party must correct its error ahead of 2027,” he said.
He also dismissed the newly formed coalition involving Obi as lacking credibility, referring to its members as “Yahoo Yahoo politicians” who, in his view, were partly responsible for the hardship experienced in Nigeria from 2015 to 2023.
“Instead of a leader with debt discipline and demonstrable progress for national renewal, Nigeria got a populist whose greatest skill is telling people what they want to hear, the 2027 election must not repeat this error, even as Peter Obi has now ported from the Labour Party to ADC,” Arabambi remarked.
The Labour Party spokesman further stated that Nigerians should reject the coalition, describing it as a reincarnation of failed political alliances. “We wish Obi well in his Yahoo Yahoo coalition, but to let him know that the Labour Party presidential ticket is now open to all Nigerians,” he added.
Arabambi concluded by reaffirming the party’s commitment to internal democracy.
“There shall be primary election this time around, and no aspirant would be favoured,” he said.
