Since last week when the news broke on the defection of former Anambra State governor, Mr Peter Obi from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the Labour Party, LP, there has been growing support for the former bank chairman, with a lot of support across social media platforms.
First was that in Anambra State where Obi pulled out of the PDP, after a glaring plan to frustrate his effort to clinch the party’s ticket for the presidential election, many members of the party also dumped the party, including its bigwig politicians, its aspirants and very many supporters, all running to the Labour Party, for the simple reason that Obi has moved on.
Upon the news of Obi’s resignation, what one can describe as mass resignation hit the party, with Mr Valentine Ozigbo, PDP’s governorship candidate in the November 2021 governorship election in Anambra, who is running for Senate, withdrawing from the race, but failing to announce his resignation from the party. Apart from Ozigbo’s withdrawal, Hon Valentine Ayika, Hon Tony Nwoye and Hon George Ozodinobi, all former members of the National Assembly are among those who also withdrew from their aspiration and resigned from the party.
As at then, a source within Anambra PDP, however, had told DAILY POST that more prominent politicians in the State will still dump PDP in the coming days. The source said it was in anger that Peter Obi left the party, as Uba and others were working to humiliate him in the State, even as he battled his fellow presidential aspirants.
“More people will leave before the end of this week. It is true that PDP in Nigeria has problems, but the problem of Anambra PDP is far more than that of the national. It is still the reason they have not held a primary election for any position, till today. The plot is for all Obi’s line up to move en mass, and join the Labour Party, from where they will give PDP a fight,” the source said.
On the willingness of the north to relinquish power, Mba said: “Many people have been talking about the willingness of the northern oligarchs to cede power to the south, and they too have shown it that they are not willing. That is why after eight years of two tenure, the north is still not willing to have power zoned to the south. PDP has also confirmed it by electing Atiku Abubakar as their candidate, making Peter Obi’s exit from the party a very good move.
But one thing I know is that, this could be the very opportunity for the real Nigerian people to choose their own president, irrespective of the options placed before them by a cabal. I’m already sure that the APC will also elect a northerner as candidate, but it is up to the voting public to choose who to vote for. Already, Peter Obi is sitting pretty because this will be the first time that someone outside the two big parties is posing a threat to the big parties, and also being positively believed to have the chance to win.”