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Obi: I’m Not Interested in Any Coalition For The Purpose of Taking Power

Peter Obi has declared no interest in political coalition for power grab ahead of 2027 presidential election

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023, Peter Obi, has said he was not interested in any coalition with the aim of grabbing power ahead of the 2027 elections.

There had been meetings  and political realignment among former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso and Obi, fueling speculations about a possible coalition to wrest power from President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.

Obi spoke on Monday in Abuja on the sidelines of a national conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria, organised by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD), Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Westminster for Democracy (WfD), Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) and National Peace Committee.

He said it was a known fact that as of today, Nigeria was not working, and that the country bred poverty everyday with her people suffering.

Asked to respond to the proposed coalition, he said: “For me, what is important is let’s discuss Nigeria. Whether we are going to do coalition…let’s talk about the future of the country. But often, we abandon the country and what we need to do, talking about power grab. 

“I’m not interested in any coalition for the purpose of taking power. It is about discussing Nigeria. How do we care about securing the Nigerians? How do we care about the common person in Nigeria? How do we care about our children being in school? That is the most important thing for now.”

On the issue of monetisation of politics, Obi said there was a need to put an end to it.

His words: “That’s what we need to remove, because what you’re doing is that you’re encouraging stealing of public money. Because if I steal it and use it to win an election, then I  get all the power and everything, including immunity not to be prosecuted. So we must stop it. That is what is driving the stealing.”

Speaking, Special Adviser on Political Matters to Vice President Kashim Shettima, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said the government of President Bola Tinubu was involved in correcting many defects in the economy and approaches. 

According to him, the conference was holding at a time when democracy as a system of government was being challenged the world over to reveal its essence and its claim to represent the only system, which was founded on the non-negotiable right of all people to choose who governs them freely and all leaders accountable.

He pointed out that Nigeria’s position regarding the fate of democracy in Africa, particularly in the neighbourhood, was to respect the sovereignty of peoples and encourage a return to democracy, because citizens in this country desire that. 

“Our failure to prioritise the learning of history means that older generations, who appreciate the superiority of democratic systems over others, have the honorable task for creating a democratic system that speaks for itself in terms of impact only on the lives of citizens as a huge responsibility. 

“Nigerian democracy must mean a lot more than asking Nigerians to line up every four years to elect leaders. It must mean, in practical terms, that leaders commit to the demands of elected leadership in very transparent manners. 

   “That mandates giving to them to govern, make themselves to people, to the interests of the people, custodians of their assets and protectors of their interests. The best leaders are people who exercise power only to promote the interests of their people.” 

On his part, the immediate past Vice-President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, said there was a need to ensure that democracy delivers inclusive opportunities. 

He noted that the productive energies of young people needed to be harnessed properly to empower them to play positive roles in democratic sustenance. 

He stressed that  one of the most important determinants of a flourishing democracy was the quality of institutions — institutions capable of guaranteeing rights, including property rights, and checking wanton abuse of power. 

Bawumia said these institutions included the Independent Election Management bodies, the Judiciary, the Ombudsman, the Police, other law enforcement agencies, and many others.

He pointed out that unfortunately, whilst the culture of peacefully choosing leaders was being entrenched, these institutions were becoming weak and endangered. 

“We are simply creating mere edifices and structures to reward cronies, creating avenues for reluctant democrats to get a back door route to autocracy and misgovernance.

“Second, there is a growing phenomenon in our democracy whereby people deliberately run down these independent and accountability institutions purely on emotive reasons, especially when these institutions decide, as they should, to uphold the law in the interest of the masses and in strict fidelity to the law.”

While presenting a paper on “Democracy in Nigeria: Challenges, Prospects and the 2027 Elections,” Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim, said people were interested in access to power with no commitment to what democracy is supposed to provide.

He stressed that Nigerians were becoming concerned about the state of democracy and challenges it has faced, but something reassuring was that in spite of the challenges, hope wasn’t lost. 

“One of the problems we have had is the disruption of the democratic order by institutions that are supposed to protect it. 

“The most serious threat is the way the party system has developed.  The key characteristics is that parties don’t have members but barons, warlords, who impose their interests. 

“The political parties that we have had lost their identities in terms of their manifestoes and what they stand for. The moment people can’t identify what parties stand for it becomes impossible to have democratic commitment.

“A situation where they have no commitment to ideals of democracy.  The real outcome is increasing apathy. The people have lost the right to exercise power because it has been confiscated from them. That creates the crisis of apathy.”

 Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale

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