Former Obi campaign chiefs dump Peter Obi, back Tinubu for 2027

Former members of the 2023 Presidential Campaign Council of Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Wednesday formally declared support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, unveiling a new political movement known as Batified Obidients and pledging to mobilise support for the All Progressives Congress (APC), particularly in states where Tinubu lost during the last presidential election.

The declaration was made during an international press conference in Abuja, where the group’s keynote address, prepared by its National Coordinator, Adesina Fagbenro-Byron, was delivered by the Deputy National Coordinator, Fabian Ozoigbo Chukwudoruo, a former Head of Logistics of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council.

The group said its decision followed months of reflection on its experience within the Obi-Datti campaign and its assessment of President Tinubu’s performance over the past three years.

“We did not come here to relive 2023. We came here to declare 2027,” the group said in its address.

“We are former Labour Party and Obidient supporters. We are now shifting our support to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and adopting the All Progressives Congress, the APC, as our political vehicle for 2027, under the name Batified Obidients.”

The movement said it would work with existing APC structures and Tinubu support groups to campaign for the President’s second-term ambition while reaching out to former Obidient supporters, undecided voters and Nigerians seeking what it described as competent and inclusive governance.

“We will mobilise our former colleagues, undecided voters, and other Nigerians who desire competent and inclusive governance. We will work to grow the support President Tinubu received in 2023, with special attention to states where his opposition won.”

The former campaign officials stressed that they were not speaking on behalf of every Obidient supporter but maintained that their decision was based on first-hand experience within the 2023 campaign.

“We respect those who remain with him, and those who have gone elsewhere. But we speak for professionals who walked and worked inside that campaign, saw how it actually worked, learned lessons, and have now made a clear choice for Nigeria’s future.”

Why We Left Peter Obi — Batified Obidients

Explaining why they abandoned Obi’s camp, the group alleged that the campaign failed to effectively utilise experienced professionals and mishandled internal differences.

“After months of honest reflection on what we witnessed from inside the campaign, the truth became impossible to ignore. We saw real weaknesses in how talent was mis-managed, how diversity was mis-handled, and how internal conflicts went unresolved.”

The group added that many competent volunteers who freely offered their expertise during the campaign were left underutilised.

“Looking back with clear eyes, we have come to see that the demands of leading a country as complex and demanding as Nigeria may have been beyond what Mr. Peter Obi was prepared for.”

“This is not to say he did not try, or that his intentions were not sincere. But it became clear to those of us inside the campaign that he was, in many ways, out of his depth without fully realizing it.”

The former campaign officials said they invested their time, skills and resources in Obi’s presidential bid because they genuinely believed he represented an opportunity for national transformation.

“We gave him the opportunity. We gave him the encouragement. Some of us provided the resources. What we could not give him was the capacity he did not have.”

Why We Back Tinubu’s Reforms

Despite acknowledging the severe economic hardship facing Nigerians, the group argued that President Tinubu’s reform programme had begun laying the foundation for long-term national development.

According to the movement, subsidy removal, increased allocations to states and local governments, electricity sector reforms, local government financial autonomy, student loans, expanded fertiliser production and efforts to decentralise military formations were among the reforms that justified their support for the current administration.

“The reforms have been difficult. They have been painful for many households. Hunger is real. The cost of living has bitten hard. Families are struggling to put food on the table. Primary healthcare and schools still need serious attention. Terrorism and insecurity are a grave cause for concern.”

Yet, the group insisted that abandoning the reforms would reverse the gains already recorded.

“The pain today is real. But the old road was not better. It was only hiding the problem and leading us deeper into perdition. This new road is hard now, but it can build a stronger and more lasting Nigeria.”

Responding to questions from journalists after the keynote address, National Coordinator Adesina Fagbenro-Byron dismissed suggestions that members of the movement had been induced to abandon Peter Obi.

“We have not been induced.”

“We have gone out of our way because if we, at some point in time, told Nigerians that this is what we wanted them to do, and we were witnesses to the fact that if they had done what we asked them to do, there must have been government, will it not be right for us to come back to the same Nigerians?”

He said the movement had not ignored the hardship associated with Tinubu’s reforms but believed Nigerians should view the current sacrifices within the context of long-term development.

“There is an inconvenience to progress.”

“To build a house you have to inconvenience people living around with dust, noise and disruption. To make eggs you have to crack them. What we are saying is that Nigerians have to contextualise some of these reforms.”

Fagbenro-Byron also pointed to increased federal allocations to states and the relative industrial peace in public universities as signs that the administration was moving in the right direction.

“Every state in this country is getting three times more than it has gotten before. When last did you hear that universities went on strike? We are saying we are on a trajectory.”

Vow to flip opposition states, predict Tinubu win so convincing “nobody will go to court..

On the group’s electoral strategy ahead of the 2027 general election, he disclosed that Batified Obidients would concentrate its mobilisation efforts in areas where President Tinubu recorded poor results during the last presidential election.

“We mobilised especially in places where opposition to Mr President won.”

“By the special grace of God, the votes that will come this time will be resounding.”

“Tinubu is not just going to win; he’s going to convincingly win so much that going to court will appear as wisdom. Not because anybody has questions for the court, but because the difference will be clear.”

The group also urged all tiers of government to establish a credible social register to ensure that social intervention programmes reach vulnerable Nigerians.

Batified Obidients said it would register members nationwide, organise grassroots mobilisation, participate in APC campaign activities and work with Tinubu Support Groups ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The emergence of the movement adds another dimension to the growing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections, as political parties intensify efforts to attract influential blocs and former campaign structures into their respective camps.