Sowore tackles Peter Obi, labels Labour Party temporary political shelter

Omoyele Sowore, former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has taken aim at the Labour Party and its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, claiming they lack the resolve to mount a meaningful challenge to Nigeria’s entrenched political establishment.

Speaking on Inside Sources, a political affairs programme on Channels Television aired on Sunday, Sowore argued that neither Obi nor the Labour Party exemplifies the characteristics of a true opposition.

“But in terms of real opposition. I don’t know why anybody refers to Peter Obi as an opposition. He is not opposed to anything the government is doing. He didn’t organise his supporters to fight for the election victory he claimed.“He said nothing when fuel prices were increased. He hasn’t done anything that an opposition figure typically does,” Sowore said.

The AAC chieftain dismissed the notion that Obi is still the leading figure in Nigeria’s opposition space ahead of the 2027 elections. He reiterated longstanding concerns about Obi’s political depth and the durability of the Labour Party’s relevance.

“My position in 2022 and 2023 is what is unfolding now — that contrary to the impression created that Peter Obi was opposed to the system and capable of challenging it, he is, in fact, incapable of doing so.“I also said at the time that the Labour Party was a short rental — what they call Airbnb in America. You move in; you check out when your time expires.“When they are done with Peter Obi, they’ll move the rental to someone else. Maybe Obi doesn’t want to move out now, rightly or wrongly, or maybe he’s staying for show,” he stated.

Sowore further suggested that Obi’s rise in 2023 was largely propelled by religious dynamics stemming from the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s controversial Muslim-Muslim ticket.

“There was this whole debate around the Muslim-Muslim ticket, so Christians responded by saying, ‘If you want to Islamise Nigeria, we’ll Christianise it too’. And who was the most available Christian candidate? Peter Obi,” he said.

According to Sowore, effective opposition demands action, protest, and mobilisation — all of which he said Obi has shied away from.
“If you say you’re opposition, you must act like it. You had six million people vote for you — if you can’t put all of them on the streets, at least put 60,000 in Abuja and see how seriously the government will take you.“You are the ones pouring cold water on protests because you don’t want real change — you just want to replace Tinubu’s group with your own group,” he added.

He also accused Labour Party lawmakers of aligning themselves with the ruling APC.

“Look at all the Labour Party people in the National Assembly — they’re not decamping back to where they came from. They’re decamping to the APC. That’s the point; these guys are not real. They weren’t real in 2023, and they won’t be in 2027,” Sowore concluded.

Obidient Movement Fires Back
In a counter-reaction, the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, dismissed Sowore’s assertions and said Obi’s political relevance remains unshaken.

“So, the question we want to ask is this: when someone is not a worthy opposition, why do you keep talking about him? As we stand today in Nigerian politics, if they don’t talk about Peter Obi, none of them gets traction. None.“Whether he goes to the toilet, speaks, or makes a statement, it becomes news. That’s the level of Peter Obi’s relevance in today’s political dispensation,” Tanko said in a phone interview with Channels Television.

He also took issue with Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s recent remarks about Obi, which he described as inappropriate and misdirected.

(CHANNELS)