The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed were conspicuously absent as the party inaugurated its presidential campaign council in Abuja on Wednesday.
While Obi tweeted that he was attending an event by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), it was uncertain at the time of reporting why Baba-Ahmed was absent.
In his remarks at the event, Director-general of the campaign council, Doyin Okupe, said the processes through which Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar emerged as presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were “dishonourable” and “flawed”.
“In all honesty, these errors of selfish and opportunistic political manipulation are not only short-sighted and dangerous, but strike at the very heart of Nigeria’s peaceful coexistence, and in fact the very survival of the nation as an entity,” Okupe said.
He said it was in response to what he termed “affront to good judgement,” that more than at any time in our history, Nigeria was witnessing her hottest, fiercest and most dynamic citizen-led political experience, spearheaded largely by the youth population.
Okupe described the ‘Obidient’ movement as organic.
“At this juncture, for the avoidance of doubt, let me state here clearly that our party, the Labour Party, as well as the Obi-Datti presidential ticket of the party, have not spent a kobo to organise, influence, or secure the massive following and support we have been getting from the Obidient Movement to date,” he added.
