Paul Ibe, spokesperson to former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, has said that Labour Party leader Peter Obi understands the difficulty of defeating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a general election, given the control and power wielded by the presidency.
Speaking during an interview with Trust TV News on July 8, 2025 from 15:45, Ibe provided an extensive assessment of the political dynamics surrounding Obi’s 2023 campaign and the current coalition moves ahead of the 2027 elections.
“I don’t speak for, you know, for Peter Obi, but I believe that with, you know, the factors, you know, things that are at play, even he himself has recognized that it would be difficult to be able to confront, you know, the president with all of the levers of power, you know, controlling, you know, everything. It would be extremely difficult. And that, I mean, they saw it play out in 2023,” Ibe stated.
He alleged that Obi’s departure from the PDP and subsequent candidacy under the Labour Party was orchestrated: “Everything that happened was deliberate. The pattern of ways of Peter Obi from the PDP, it was all scripted, it was planned, it was executed by the same, you know, man we were talking about.”
Ibe also suggested infiltration within Obi’s inner circle: “There were characters… I said it directly. There were characters who were sympathetic to Tinubu, who were planted around Peter Obi.”
On post-election fallout and defections, Ibe pointed to changes in Obi’s campaign structure: “How the former… what was it… the Director General of his campaign, how he parted ways with him quickly after the election… Some of them joined this government. Some of them joined the APC. Clearly shows you that he didn’t also understand what was going on around him. He didn’t know. He didn’t know.”
He argued that Obi, with hindsight, has come to realize the need for coalition politics: “With the benefit of hindsight, he has looked at the situation, he has analyzed it, and he has seen clearly that the only way to proceed… is to be able to get out this government.”
On the question of whether Obi might have conceded the vice-presidential slot in the proposed coalition, Ibe responded metaphorically: “One day in politics is a long day… He has a right to contest. He has his supporters… In a marriage such as we have now, there are bound to be a little distant. And with time, people will begin to understand themselves. Sacrifices will be made.”
He concluded with a colorful analogy: “The young man that does not like Egusi would ultimately, maybe when the wife garnishes with some, you know, dry fish and all of that, you probably begin to see that, oh, it is tasty, and he could begin to have it. That’s exactly what is going to happen.”
