The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), to make a timely decision on whether he intends to join the party.
While acknowledging Obi as an influential figure within its coalition, the ADC said it will not pressure him into becoming a member.
Obi had stated on Wednesday that the ADC coalition was weakening because it had yet to resolve issues around zoning and the rotation of key leadership positions.
Despite these concerns, he expressed confidence in the coalition’s leadership, which includes David Mark, former senate president, and Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president.
Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesperson of the ADC, told Punch that zoning is not currently under consideration, stressing that the party is focused on establishing itself as a credible political alternative.
“We’re not talking about zoning or no zoning now. Nigerians are still waiting for us to tell them what we will do differently,” he said.
“So, zoning or no zoning is not on the table now. If that is the condition for Obi to join us, maybe he should wait till that time.
“I understand what Peter has been saying. But I will encourage him to make up his mind if he wants to be part of the coalition or not.
“Because the most important thing for us is how we can convince Nigerians that we represent the credible alternative, and this is without prejudice to where the candidate will come from.”
Abdullahi added that the party still wants Obi to be part of the coalition.
“For us, we want Peter Obi to join us in building a political party that can reset Nigerian politics and provide a credible alternative to Nigerians,” he said.
“When we get to that point of deciding what he considers to be his priority, then we will take that decision.
“But if that is the condition on which he is going to continue to be part of the coalition or make up his mind about the coalition, he should probably wait until we get to that point and make that decision.
“But we will encourage him to make up his mind to join the party now. For us, we have other priorities, which include developing our party. We are making progress in that regard.”
Responding to Obi’s earlier remarks, Abdullahi said it was inaccurate to describe the coalition as unstable.
“It’s unfortunate that he used a word like unstable, because instability is not contingent on whether we are able to make certain decisions on zoning at this point or not,” he said.
“We are stable. Within five months, we have offices in 27 or 28 states as of last count, without a single political officeholder. That’s a major achievement.
“We would like to see Peter Obi go to Anambra and support efforts to build the party like other leaders have done in their respective states. The party will continue to encourage him.
“We want him to be part of our journey. We want him to be part of building the party.”