Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, has confirmed his exit from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), citing “endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and division” within the party.
TheCable had on Saturday reported that Obi and former Kano governor Rabiu Kwankwaso would leave the ADC.
In a statement on Sunday afternoon, Obi said his decision to quit was not due to any personal issues with ADC leaders.
“Let me state clearly: my decision to leave the ADC is not because our highly respected Chairman, Senator David Mark, treated me badly, nor because my leader and elder brother, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other respected leaders did anything personally wrong to me. I will continue to respect them,” he wrote on his X page.
He accused “the same Nigerian state and its agents” of creating crises within political parties, saying they “now appear to be finding their way into the ADC, with endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and division, instead of focusing on deeper national problems and playing politics built more on control and exclusion than on service and nation-building.”
Obi lamented that sincere contributions within political spaces are often unappreciated.
“Even within spaces where one labours sincerely, one is sometimes treated like an outsider in one’s own home. You and your team become easy targets for every failure, frustration, or misunderstanding, as though honest contribution has become a favour being tolerated rather than appreciated,” he said.
“And when you choose to leave so that those you are leaving can have peace, and you step out into the cold, you are still maligned and your character is questioned.”
He questioned why integrity and prudent resource management are undervalued in the country.
“There are moments I ask God in prayer: Why is doing the right thing often misconstrued as wrongdoing in our country? Why is integrity not valued? Why is the prudent management of resources, especially when invested in critical areas like education and healthcare, wrongly labelled as stinginess?”
Obi reiterated that he is not desperate for political office but for national progress.
“I am desperate to see a society that can console a mother whose child has been kidnapped or killed while going to school or work,” he said.
“I am desperate to see a Nigeria where people will not live in IDP camps but in their homes. I am desperate for a country where Nigerian citizens do not go to bed hungry, not knowing where their next meal will come from.”
