2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has stated that rumours of him planning to return to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are only mere speculations.
He revealed this through the Labour Party’s campaign spokesperson, Yunusa Tanko on Monday night.
Obi had earlier met with the three chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party on Monday in Abuja; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, erstwhile Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido and former Senate President, Bukola Saraki.
This is the first meeting of the former Anambra State governor with his former political allies after he defected from the PDP to LP in May 2022.
On the chances of Obi returning to the PDP or the possibility of a merger between the Labour Party and the PDP, Tanko said to Punch:
“Well, not really. Those are the permutations of individuals. I don’t want to dwell on that. But this is still an ongoing discussion. His destination will reveal itself later. Some of these discussions (Obi returning to PDP) are offshoots of what has been happening since the last election.
“We need to wait and see how these discussions pan out. Let’s hope they bring a positive outcome in the long run,” he said.
Recall that Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe said that Obi was frustrated out of the opposition party by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, because of the Obi’s political ambition.
Ibe made this claim when he featured on the popular online political platform, Mic On Podcast, on Saturday.
“Wike was instrumental to the exit of Obi because he promoted the zoning of the presidency to the south. He believed that if it was zoned to the south, not the south-east, he would be in the best position to get the ticket.
“Whatever interest that Wike is doing, clearly shows that it’s at variance with the interest of the PDP.
“There is no doubt about it that the Atiku-Obi ticket of 2019 was viable and it still remains viable because the LP took away some of the votes of the PDP in the 2023 presidential election”, Ibe said.