Hon. Rahman Owokoniran, for­mer South West Zonal Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Par­ty (PDP) and a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has said that the formal joining of the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, will trigger remarkable mo­mentum in the direction of the coalition party in 2027.

Owokoniran, who is the lead­er of the ADC in the South-West, told Sunday Independent that the coming of the former Anam­bra State governor was good for a nation deserving change.

He said: “It’s a very good de­velopment for ADC. It’s no news for us because he has been part of the coalition from the begin­ning and so what he has done is the formality of registering with the party like he’s supposed to do.

“So, to that end, it’s fulfilling all the obligations, which is good. But it’s a good thing for the nation, particularly a nation that desires change. These move by Obi is going to enable a lot of people who are possibly doubt­ing the possibility of removing the ruling party from office to see that it’s feasible.

“It’s going to trigger the mo­mentum in the direction of the ADC. People might not under­stand what the struggle of APC was, all along. People may not understand the reason why it was stampeding the governors of the People’s Democratic Par­ty to dump their party and re­move to APC.

“It’s clear to some of us that this became necessary because the ruling party has lost the trust of the northern part of the country. So, the drive to estab­lish strength in the south was all the reason why it invested so much in the governors, so that they could jump ship.

“So, when they jump ship that will instill confidence that it can now make a case for the north that APC is very strong in the southern part of the country. But we’ve moved be­yond that now because of Obi’s movement.

“The majority of the people that moved with him are from the south, and that’s an assur­ance for the north that as the ruling party has lost trust in the north, it has equally lost trust in the south.

“That is what Obi’s move­ment has indicated. So, it’s bound to impact negatively for the APC, while the ADC will have the momentu’ between now and the election period in 2027.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Ladan Sali­hu, a chieftain of the ADC, has said that by formally joining the ADC, Obi has put one leg of the coalition party in the presiden­tial villa.

Speaking on Arise TV on Sunday, the ADC chieftain not­ed that Peter Obi joining the ADC is a defining moment in political history, in the history of the ADC, and in the history of the opposition movement in Nigeria.

He said: “Remember, some weeks back, Alhaji Atiku Abu­bakar declared for the ADC, and now we have Peter Obi.

“If you look at the last pres­idential election in 2023, about 63% of the total presidential votes was garnered by both lead­ers. So you can just take that one piece and put it on the table.

“You can literally say that politically the ADC has put us in a position where one leg is al­ready in the presidential villa.”

He noted that Obi didn’t join alone; he also joined with Sena­tor Eyinnaya Abaribe and a host of other legislators and former governors, stressing that it is a sign of victory for the coalition party.

TIMELY DEFECTION

Also, the Eastern Union, a political pressure group for the people of Old Eastern Region, has commended Mr. Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party for his December 31 defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The Eastern Union, In a state­ment signed by Hon. Charles Anike, National President, Eastern Union (EU), hailed Mr. Obi for taking the bold step by defecting to the ADC.

He said the decision to defect to ADC before 2026 was neces­sary and timely as that would lead to adjustments by the par­ty’s leadership.

Anike noted that the La­bour Party has over the period been infiltrated by the APC like dangerous viruses, adding that President Bola Tinubu’s die-hard political allies had planted many political moles in Labour Party, just as they did in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), especially after the overwhelming performance of the Labour Party through the Obi candidacy.

Anike stressed that the un­believable performance of the party through the Obi candi­dacy had kept the APC restless and sleepless, after the alleged connivance of INEC Chairman.

Anike stated that the only op­tion left for the APC is to, at all costs and by all means, destroy the major opposition party.

According to him, as a major strategy, the APC believes that the only way forward in trying to sustain their stolen mandate is to create crises in the major opposition parties.

“In this circumstance, the Nigerian masses have been waiting seriously for this move by the people’s candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, and now by his defec­tion, the people’s hope has been revived and rekindled.

“The EU, by this courageous and well calculated move by Mr. Obi, will commence in earnest to mobilise and sensitise fellow Nigerians on the need to gear up once again and renew their resolve to reclaim their coun­try from political desperados and bandits who has in the past 12 years grabbed power and en­slaved the people in their father’s land.

“The Obi’s defection is not only a welcome development but a multiplied encouragement to Nigerians and dead blow to the APC for the New Year.

“Our energies have been revived and the political atmo­sphere will surely change soon. We had earlier advised Tinubu to start locating the exit doors out of the Presidential Villa, but he is still hoping and be­lieving that it will be business as usual.

“But, unknown to them, Ni­gerians, especially the wound­ed youths are warming up to shock Tinubu and the APC come 2027.

“The defection of some state governors is nothing, but emp­ty political threats and another APC political miscalculation, craftly plotted to bamboozle Nigerians for another round of server glitches,” the EU boss stated. (Daily Independent)