In an interview with TV360 from 10:41, political affairs analyst Charles Ideho held Peter Obi partly responsible for the deepening crisis within the Labour Party. According to him, Obi missed a critical opportunity to institutionalize the popular support he received during the 2023 presidential election by failing to channel his organic support base, the Obidient movement, into the party’s formal structure. Ideho argued that such a move would have solidified Labour Party’s strength and positioned it as a formidable political force beyond the elections.
Ideho emphasized that the Obidient movement, which was a significant asset during the campaign, could have evolved into a robust party base if Obi had taken deliberate steps to convert that momentum into actual Labour Party membership. By not doing so, he suggested, Obi allowed the goodwill to dissipate and left the party vulnerable to internal divisions and weakened organizational coherence.
He also addressed the controversy surrounding Labour Party chairman Julius Abure, who has been at the center of suspensions and disciplinary actions within the party. Ideho pointed out that Abure’s actions stemmed from concerns that some elements were attempting to narrow the party’s national character by turning it into a regional platform. According to Ideho, this move was reflected in the pattern of suspensions, which mostly targeted members from the South East region.
Abure, he noted, was determined to maintain the party’s national identity and resist any attempt to pigeonhole it based on ethnicity or region. The party’s diverse voter base, drawn from across the country, was evidence that Labour Party was never meant to be a South East party—even if its only governor came from that region.
“I blame Peter Obi and why I blame him is on two fronts. One, he forfeited the goodwill he enjoyed when he had this organic followership that was brought in by the Obidients movement. He should have transitioned them into Labour Party membership and that would have shored up the power, of course all of them were building Labour Party. Number two, what Abure was fighting was that there was a clandestine move, allegedly so, that they were all making this thing a regional party. If you look at all the names that were suspended, they are all Igbo. Abure said no, this is a national party. You received all your votes from everywhere. Because we have a Governor from the South East does not make the party a South East party.”
