The National Vice Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) for the South-West, Abayomi Arabambi, has declared that the party’s leadership, including Abia State Governor Alex Otti, has reached a consensus to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
Arabambi made the declaration during an interview on News Central on Thursday.
“Abure and Governor Alex Otti have all agreed in principle that we will support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu because this presidency belongs to the South-West, not to the South,” he said, adding that the arrangement was designed to allow the South-West to complete its eight-year cycle at the presidency.
On the question of Peter Obi’s possible return to the Labour Party — a prospect allegedly being pushed by former Finance Minister, Nenadi Usman — Arabambi dismissed the idea, saying the party’s 2023 presidential candidate can not return.
“Obi can never come back to the Labour Party, because we have an agreement, even with Governor Alex Otti, because of the intractable crisis, because of what has happened in the Labour Party, we have all settled that we will support the second term and ambition of Mr President Bola Ahmed Tinubu only,” he said.
Arabambi accused Usman of acting as an agent of Obi, arguing that her push to bring the former Anambra governor back into the Labour Party was driven by her awareness that Obi won’t secure the presidential ticket of the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress (ADC).
“Nenadi is just an appendage of Peter Obi. She’s only deceiving herself. She wants Obi as our Labour Party presidential candidate, and that is not going to work,” he said, urging her to abandon the idea regardless of who was sponsoring it.
“She should perish that thought, no matter whosoever that is sponsoring her,” he added.
