Peter Obi, former governor and one of the top Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirants, may dump the party should he fail to get the presidential ticket, a source close to the aspirant told revealed to our correspondent on Wednesday.
The PDP has fixed May 28 and May 29 for its presidential primary.
The party has also cleared 15 aspirants to compete for the presidential ticket with Obi; former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki; Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal and the Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State are some of the leading aspirants.
The source close to Obi said the former governor was under pressure to dump the PDP and pursue his presidential bid in another political party.
The source added that though other aspirants from the South-East had accepted to work for him, his chances of getting the ticket was low.
“The results of various primaries of the party conducted so far have showed those most of these delegates are loyal to,” the source said.
“So he (Obi) is under pressure to leave the PDP for the moneybags, we are currently looking to find another party to accept him. Don’t be surprised that Obi will be the third force Nigerians have been waiting for.”
A frontline presidential aspirant of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, Peter Obi, may have succumbed to pressure from support groups asking him to dump the Peoples Democratic Party.
The Hotmedia.ng learnt on Tuesday that the former Anambra State governor has perfected plans to defect to the Labour Party for good, due to the politics of the PDP delegates’ election.
The Coalition for Peter Obi (COP) had piled pressure on the former governor to leave the PDP in order to realize his ambition to be president of Nigeria.
The support groups warned Peter Obi that if he failed to leave the PDP, he would be seen in the light of career politicians who brought Nigeria to its knees.
The support groups based their advice on reports that money bags in the PDP were doling out hundreds of millions of dollars to buy the delegates that will vote at the forthcoming PDP presidential primary.
They, therefore, advised Peter Obi to move to another political party to be at peace with his conscience and not to entangle himself in possible political negotiations or maneuvering that will stain him and hamper his ability to serve Nigerians.
This was disclosed in a statement jointly signed by the conveners of the Coalition of over 17 support groups that recently organized a One-Million-Man March that witnessed massive turnout across the 36 states of the federation and FCT.
Over 7 million Nigerians reportedly participated in the march which was held on Saturday, May 21, 2022.
The organizers of the march asked the PDP leadership to be transparent in their dealings and to give Nigerians Peter Obi, a leader with a proven track record of prudent management of resources and wealth creation.
The Coalition, with an estimated ten million active voters across the country, also berated the PDP for playing double standards and violating its own constitutional provision on zoning political offices, thereby toying with the future of our children.
Those who signed the issue on Tuesday morning include Alhaji Zubairu Mohammad Spokesman, CPO, for the following 17 pressure groups: Peter Obi Support Network (POSN); Like Minds for Peter Obi (LMPO); Nigeria Needs Peter Obi (NNPO); TakeBackNaija (TBN); Women for Peter Obi (WPO); Peter Obi FC (POFC); Peter Obi Movement for President (POMP); Associates of Peter Obi (APO/POE); Peter Obi Candidacy Movement (POCM); Peter Obi Ambassadors (POA); TeamOHO; Nigerian Diasporas for Peter Obi (NDPO USA); Peter Obi National Mandate (PONAM); Peter Obi for Good Governance (POGG); YES Peter Obi Support Group (YESPOSG); Peter Obi to the RESCUE Group (PORG); and 17. Nigeria Unites for Peter Obi (NUPO).
The statement reads: “Recent development within the leadership of PDP is very pathetic as many chieftains of the party have ganged up to frustrate the presidential ambition of genuine and decent presidential aspirants, thereby encouraging unscrupulous politicians with no verifiable sources of income to throw monies around.
“They are well-known individuals in the party who are doing everything possible within their powers to block any chance for credible aspirants to emerge. The Party seems to have adopted an unwritten rule of tacitly encouraging the looting of state resources for party politics.
“Many of these political merchants are envious of the nationwide acceptability and sterling performance of Peter Obi both in the public and private sector, making them do everything possible to thwart the former governor of Anambra state’s presidential ambition.
“Therefore, as a Coalition which consists of more than 17 groups with ten million active voters, we call on his Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi to dump Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and look for another political platform with people of like mind to pursue his presidential ambition to enable him help salvage our sinking nation”.
