Peter Obi, Former Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, has officially dumped the party for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), calling on Nigerians and opposition figures to rally behind a unified national platform to confront what he described as Nigeria’s worsening political and economic crisis.
Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, announced his defection on Wednesday at the Nike Lake Resort in Enugu during a New Year address, where he accused the current political leadership of entrenching state capture, mismanaging the economy and undermining democratic institutions.
Describing the move as a decision driven by national interest, Obi urged members of the Obidient Movement and opposition leaders across the country to align with the ADC as part of a broad-based coalition.
“This decision is guided solely by patriotism and national interest. I now respectfully call on my political associates, the Obidient Movement and opposition leaders across the country to join this broad national coalition under the African Democratic Congress. History will not forgive silence in moments of national peril,” he declared.
Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi defects to the African Democratic Congress (ADC)
Obi said Nigeria had reached a defining moment that required decisive leadership and a break from politics of division.
“As the year 2025 ends today, we stand on the threshold of a new beginning. For Nigeria, moments of profound national challenge demand clarity of purpose and decisive action. That moment is now,” he said.
Painting a grim picture of the country’s condition, Obi cited alarming levels of poverty, unemployment and insecurity, noting that over 130 million Nigerians are trapped in multidimensional poverty, while more than 80 million youths remain unemployed.
“Our people are in persistent agony. This is not the destiny God bequeathed to over 220 million Nigerians,” he said, adding pointedly, “Nigeria is looted into poverty.”
He dismissed arguments that Nigeria’s struggles were unavoidable, insisting that leadership failure, rather than lack of resources, was at the root of the crisis.
“As a nation, we are not poor; we are looted into poverty. Nigeria is not broken; Nigeria is severely betrayed. The average Nigerian is not lazy or incompetent, but the system is rigged to reward mediocrity and recycle failure,” Obi said.
Drawing from international examples, Obi compared Nigeria’s trajectory with that of countries that have achieved rapid development through effective leadership, citing Indonesia as a case in point.
“Indonesia and Nigeria started with similar characteristics,” he noted, “but while Indonesia is now a trillion-dollar economy, Nigeria is grappling with de-industrialisation, corruption and deepening poverty.”
Obi also criticised the Federal Government’s tax reforms, describing them as anti-people and economically damaging, while warning that reports of a forged tax law posed a serious threat to public trust.
“A tax regime founded on forgery cannot build trust, unity or prosperity,” he said.
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