{"id":124730,"date":"2025-12-31T22:37:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T21:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=124730"},"modified":"2025-12-31T22:37:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T21:37:49","slug":"defection-atiku-obident-movement-hail-obi-for-joining-adc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/defection-atiku-obident-movement-hail-obi-for-joining-adc\/","title":{"rendered":"Defection: Atiku, \u2018Obident Movement\u2019 hail Obi for joining ADC"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Myke Agunwa<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has extended a warm welcome to Peter Obi following the latter\u2019s defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on New Year\u2019s Eve.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Obi formally announced his exit from the Labour Party during a well-attended New Year event in Enugu, where he was joined by several South-East political heavyweights in defecting to the ADC.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Atiku in a message on his X handle shortly after the announcement, described the move as a \u201csignificant boost\u201d to efforts aimed at building a united opposition capable of defeating the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate praised Obi\u2019s decision, emphasising that it marks \u201ca new chapter in our collective resolve to rescue Nigeria from misrule, economic hardship, and democratic backsliding.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He said, \u201cToday marks a significant moment in the history of political coalitions in our country, with the official declaration of my brother and associate, @PeterObi, into the African Democratic Congress (ADC).<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cIt is my pleasure to welcome him officially, as we look forward to a robust working relationship that will foster a virile opposition, one that will ultimately form a government capable of bringing prosperity and peace to our people. And as the @ADCNig<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cCoalition train leaves Enugu, the capital of the Southeast region, I hope this inspires other patriots to join the cause with the train headed in their direction\u201d Atiku wrote.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Atiku, who has maintained close consultations with Obi since the 2023 elections, hinted at ongoing talks for broader opposition coalescence, stating: \u201cThe time for petty divisions is over. What Nigeria requires now is a formidable, inclusive platform that places competence, integrity, and the welfare of citizens above personal ambition.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Similarly, National Coordinator of Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko said that the decision to join ADC is to join the coalition that will unseat Tinubu in 2027.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cAs we take another bold step in Nation Building for the interest of the Nigerian people. H E has set the Agenda once again in the political history of Nigeria. We move together with the coalition under the African Democratic Congress ADC.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cToday we are going to unnvail our continuous Xspace discussions in our mobilisation drive\u201d Tanko disclosed.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Political observers interpret Atiku\u2019s swift and positive response as a clear signal that the two former rivals, who collectively garnered over 54% of the vote in 2023, are working toward a strategic alliance, potentially under the ADC banner, to avoid the vote-splitting that handed President Bola Tinubu victory.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">ADC National Chairman, former Senate President David Mark, also welcomed the development, saying Obi\u2019s entry \u201cheralds the beginning of a new, people-centred political order.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As Nigeria steps into 2026, the opposition landscape appears to be consolidating rapidly, with analysts predicting intensified negotiations in the coming months to produce a single, formidable challenger against the APC in the 2027 presidential race.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Myke Agunwa Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has extended a warm welcome to Peter Obi following the latter\u2019s defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on New Year\u2019s Eve.&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":124731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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