The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has confirmed that Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, and Nasir El-Rufai, former Kaduna State Governor, are exempted from defecting from their present political platforms ahead of the 2027 elections.
Bolaji Abdullahi, the interim National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, confirmed the development in an exclusive phone chat with reporters on Wednesday.
His clarification came after the temporary National Chairman of the ADC, David Mark, issued a strong warning on Tuesday, insisting that the party under his leadership will tolerate no sort of anti-party activity or indiscipline.
Mark, while speaking to members of the party in Abuja, declared that “There will be zero tolerance for anti-party and any form of indiscipline; you are either in ADC or not in ADC. No midway in this business, and those not with us, we will not carry them along.
“Those who are not totally committed will not be carried along. We shall reverse our grassroots leadership structures to reflect modern realities from the polling units upwards to the national level. Every organ reenergised.
“We will open the gates for the next generations; our policies, nominations, and roles will reflect such.”
The ADC, which was recently selected as the opposition coalition’s flagship platform, is widely considered to be courting Obi and other prominent politicians who have yet to openly declare their support for the party.
But the former Anambra State governor’s camp downplayed concerns over Mark’s warning, claiming that their principal had already communicated his position to coalition leaders.
Dr. Yunusa Tanko, the National Coordinator of the Obedient Movement Worldwide, told our correspondent that Obi will not be pressured into making any rash decisions.
He said, “Even before we got into the issue of the coalition, our principal had made his position known ab initio, that he is still a Labour man and the coalition that he joined is for 2027.
“Obi actually made that clear when the coalition was at the formation stage. So we don’t see it as anything because we already made our position known right from the beginning.”
When approached to check Tanko’s status, Abdullahi said that Obi and El-Rufai had been granted a waiver to continue in their legacy parties for the moment.
He explained, “Absolutely! Obi is correct. This applies to himself and Nasir (El-Rufai). This is because their supporters and allies have obtained forms to contest the election in their legacy parties.
“So we cannot ask them to defect. It will affect the structures of those following them. They were therefore granted a concession to remain in their parties until after the election.
“In a nutshell, they requested a concession, and they were granted it.”
Meanwhile, Obi has distanced himself from the viral words that are currently circulating on social media and other forums.
His communications adviser, Umar Ibrahim, clarified in a press release on Wednesday.
One of the viral comments suggested that Obi denied rejoining the Peoples Democratic Party and reiterated his devotion to the African Democratic Congress.
The other person claimed that he had been offered the job of National Organising Secretary in the ADC.
Ibrahim, however, confirmed that neither of the two alleged statements came from Obi or his media office.
He said, “Peter Obi has been unequivocal in his position in the ongoing coalition and didn’t need anyone to put words into his mouth.”
“He has remained focused on his mission but would not accept anybody attributing a statement to him just to satisfy their devious agenda.”
The former Anambra governor, who has been the subject of much political conjecture, remains focused on his mission to create “a new Nigeria of our dreams.”
The media office thus asked the public to “disregard any statement purported to come from him outside his media office or his official handle.”
