Labour Party South-West Vice Chairman Claims Abure and Otti Have Agreed to Back Tinubu’s Re-election in 2027

A senior official of the Labour Party has made a startling declaration that the party’s key leadership figures including Abia State Governor Alex Otti and National Chairman Julius Abure have reached an agreement in principle to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, a claim that is certain to send shockwaves through Nigeria’s opposition landscape.

The declaration was made by Abayomi Arabambi, the Labour Party’s National Vice Chairman for the South-West, during an interview on News Central on Thursday. Arabambi stated that the consensus to back Tinubu is anchored on the rotational argument that the presidency currently belongs to the South-West geopolitical zone and should be allowed to complete the full eight-year cycle before moving to another region.

“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,” Arabambi said, in remarks that appear to draw a deliberate distinction between the South-West and the broader South.

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Arabambi’s comments represent a significant departure from the role the Labour Party played in the 2023 elections, when the party positioned itself as the primary opposition to the ruling APC and Tinubu’s presidential ambition, riding the wave of Peter Obi’s enormous grassroots support to finish third nationally and dominate votes in major urban centres.

The South-West vice chairman went further to firmly close the door on any prospect of Peter Obi returning to the Labour Party. He dismissed moves reportedly being championed by former Finance Minister Nenadi Usman a key figure in the ongoing Labour Party internal leadership crisis to position Obi as the party’s 2027 presidential candidate.

“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,” Arabambi stated.

The Labour Party vice chairman accused Usman of being an agent of Peter Obi’s political interests, alleging that her push to restore Obi to the LP fold stems from a realisation that Obi would not secure the presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress the opposition coalition platform that recently held its national convention in Abuja, attended by Atiku Abubakar, Kwankwaso, Amaechi and other heavyweights.

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“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,” – Arabambi said,

Arabambi’s claims, if accurate, would represent a dramatic ideological pivot for a party whose 2023 campaign was built on a platform of change, accountability and resistance to the political establishment. They will inevitably draw sharp responses from Labour Party members, Obi supporters and opposition watchers who have been monitoring the party’s internal crisis with growing alarm.

Neither Governor Otti’s office nor National Chairman Julius Abure had issued an official response to Arabambi’s claims as of press time. The declarations are expected to trigger significant debate within the party structure and among the millions of Nigerians particularly young voters who rallied behind the Labour Party and the Obidient movement in 2023.