Tanko Yunusa contends that the Obidient Movement holds greater significance than the Labour Party, despite the latter’s backing of the LP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi.
As the chief spokesperson of the Obi-Datti organization, he made this assertion during Friday’s segment of Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
“It’s bigger than the Labour Party. It is so because it is a move of its own that has a life of its own. What they are interested in is good governance,” Tanko said.
“Even if the Labour Party is doing something that is wrong, they are able to challenge it. Let me go further. Even His Excellency [Peter Obi], if he does something that is not aligned with good governance, we would challenge it.”
He said the Obidient Movement is all about good governance which Obi preaches.
“They are loyal to the messages that connect to good governance and Peter Obi is championing that particular good governance,” the Labour Party chieftain said.
LP Bows To Pressure
Following criticism, the Labour Party has recently changed the name of a party directorate previously known as the Directorate of Obidient Affairs.
LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, announced that the Obidient Directorate has been renamed the Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration.
“Following the controversies arising from the creation of the Directorate of OBIDIENT Affairs, in the party, the Directorate is hereby renamed the Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration,” Obiorah said on Thursday.
“The inauguration will take place on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at the party’s National Secretariat, Utako, Abuja, by 10 a.m. Party members and the general public should take note.”
In the wake of the move, Obi said the movement is beyond the LP and cuts across party, gender, and ethnic divides.
Beyond Party
“There may be a youth mobilization directorate in political parties, but the Obidient Movement is far beyond a particular political party. The Obidient Movement is a diverse and inclusive collective that transcends traditional political, religious, and ethnic affiliations,” Obi wrote on his X page late Wednesday.
“It is not domiciled within any particular party or headquartered in any particular part of the country.”