In an interview with the Sun on Sunday, February 22, 2026, the National Coordinator of the Take Back Nigeria Initiative (TBNI), Abumchukwu Okoye, has suggested that Peter Obi made a strategic blunder by leaving the Labour Party for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), arguing that he sacrificed a guaranteed presidential ticket for an uncertain coalition arrangement.
Okoye expressed particular concern about Obi’s association with former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, whose Senate rejection for ministerial appointment he described as a political warning sign.
“Do you know that if Peter Obi had remained in Labour Party he would have become the party’s presidential candidate, instead of going to join Atiku and El-Rufai in ADC?” Okoye asked, suggesting that Obi’s path to the 2027 ticket was clear within his previous party.
The TBNI coordinator then identified what he sees as a particularly damaging political alliance. “Associating with El-Rufai who was rejected as a minister in the Senate where the North was the majority is enough signal to any political party to run away from him because he has become a political liability,” Okoye stated.
The reference to El-Rufai’s Senate rejection highlights a significant political embarrassment for the former governor, who was nominated by President Tinubu for a ministerial position but was blocked by the Senate—which at the time had a northern majority—following security report concerns raised during his screening.
Okoye’s analysis suggests that Obi’s decision to align with figures carrying political baggage may undermine rather than strengthen his presidential ambitions, contrasting sharply with the independent appeal he cultivated during the 2023 campaign as the Labour Party’s candidate. Read_More…