Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has dismissed fears of Nigeria sliding into a one-party state.
Obi stated that there is no political party that can capture any region simply because a governor defects to it.
He made this statement on Wednesday in Abuja while reacting to the recent defection of Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah and his Bayelsa counterpart, Douye Diri, to the ruling All Progressives Congress.
According to him, the idea that a state can be captured by a political party through the defection of its leader belongs to Nigeria’s military past.
“The people will decide where to go, not governors or senators. No party will capture or win any state just because it has a governor.
“Peter Mbah is a good friend of mine, and I believe that as governor, he must have taken his decision based on his own political views and calculations,” he said.
The former Anambra State governor also dismissed the notion that the South-East could be captured politically, insisting that leadership in a democracy is about persuasion, not coercion.
“As for the alleged plot to capture the South-East, we are not in a military time when you capture people. You are a leader. You tend to do the right things for them to follow you. So I don’t think anybody is capturing anywhere,” he added.
The politician called on public officials to focus on good governance and policies that directly improve the lives of citizens, warning that no amount of political realignment can guarantee loyalty from the people without performance.