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Former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has resigned from the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and is believed to have also dropped out of the 2023 presidential race. Will he join a new party?
Obi was running mate for the PDP’s 2019 presidential candidate, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, and was expected to run in the PDP presidential primaries to be held this weekend in Abuja.
However, in a letter dated 24 May addressed to the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, Obi said: “It has been a great honour to contribute to the nation-building efforts through our party. Unfortunately, recent developments within our party make it practically impossible to continue participating…”
Obi’s resignation means the departure of one of the PDP frontrunners, and many believe that the ticket will now almost certainly go to Atiku.
Abandoning presidential ambition?
Although it has been assumed that the resignation this late into the presidential race means that Obi will not run, one of his aides told Premium Times: “I can confirm that he has left the PDP but I cannot confirm that he is no longer in the race. We’ll find that out.”
PUNCH learned from unnamed sources that Obi might be defecting to a coalition of a Rabiu Kwankwaso-led New Nigeria People’s Party, the Labour Party, and the Social Democratic Party.
It is rumoured that these parties are planning to form an alliance to defeat the two main parties: the current ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Obi’s former party, the opposition PDP. Obi remains hugely popular with Nigerian youth online.
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