Obi disowns verbal assaults on Atiku, others

Former Labour Party presidential candidate within the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has denied allegations that he inspired members of the Obidient Motion to insult leaders of the opposition coalition, together with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Obi made the clarification in a viral video circulating on social media amid rising tensions inside the African Democratic Congress over the celebration’s rising presidential permutations.

When contacted to confirm the authenticity of the video, the Nationwide Coordinator of the Obidient Motion, Dr Yunusa Tanko, advised The PidomNigeria that the clip was from an engagement held on the motion’s secretariat on Tuesday.

Within the video, Obi distanced himself from verbal assaults allegedly carried out in his title, insisting that such conduct was alien to his politics and the ethos of the Obidients.

“These are criminals who will not be Obidient folks. You don’t see anyone calling the opposite a nasty title. You might have by no means seen me name anyone a nasty title,” Obi mentioned.

He confused that his political engagement inside the ADC was anchored on mutual respect, including, “We’re within the ADC and respect everyone there. However as for calling folks dangerous names, we aren’t in help of it. I don’t subscribe to it.”

The previous Anambra State governor additional underscored his long-standing relationships with key figures within the opposition coalition, dismissing claims that he would sanction insults in opposition to them.

“The folks I met there, right down to the celebration chairman, are my elder brothers. Individuals like Atiku are my chief and a really revered elder brother. Amaechi is my brother, and we’re very shut.

“So is also El-Rufai. Title them, all of the people who find themselves there—Liyel Limoke, Oyegun, Aregbesola. These are my colleagues. So how do I say something dangerous about them?” he requested.

Obi assured his supporters that he had not authorised any type of verbal assault, warning that some people had been exploiting his title to sow discord inside the coalition.

“Those that are following me, I guarantee you, is not going to say something dangerous about them. However some components are attempting to do this to harm the Peter Obi model,” he added.

Calling for a shift in focus, Obi urged politicians and supporters alike to prioritise Nigeria’s urgent challenges quite than inside squabbles.

“That’s not what we ought to be doing in politics. Allow us to discuss out-of-school youngsters, hungry and unemployed Nigerians, insecurity, and the way random abduction of individuals—the place about 150 worshippers are being kidnapped in church buildings and mosques—is going on. That ought to be our pre-occupation,” he mentioned.

The PidomNigeria had reported that cracks had been rising inside the ADC over Obi’s presidential ambition following his defection to the celebration as a part of the opposition coalition.

Findings indicated that the stress stemmed from the insistence by Obi’s supporters, popularly often called Obidients, that he should be thought of for the celebration’s presidential ticket or threat their withdrawal.

Our correspondents gathered that some ADC leaders, significantly from the North, had grown displeased with what they described because the overbearing angle of Obi’s promoters, prompting quite a lot of them to start distancing themselves from the previous governor.

Obi, a key determine within the opposition coalition that later remodeled into the ADC, formally joined the celebration on December 31, 2025, in Enugu. Earlier than his defection, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate had pledged to serve a single time period if elected president.

Nevertheless, Obi’s followers—lots of whom migrated from the Labour Party to the ADC—have maintained that he should clinch the presidential ticket, arguing that the South deserves to retain energy for eight years earlier than it returns to the North.

Considered one of Obi’s staunch loyalists, Aisha Yesufu, had publicly vowed to work in opposition to the ADC if Obi accepted a vice-presidential slot.

In a viral video launched shortly after his defection, she mentioned, “Let me return to the Mr Peter Obi dialog the place individuals are like, ‘it is best to run as vp.’ Me, and I’m providing you with folks my phrase now… if Peter Obi is working with anybody because the vp, because the working mate to that particular person, I’ll work in opposition to that ticket.

“In my little capability, I’ll work in opposition to that ticket. Even when I don’t help some other particular person, I’ll work in opposition to that ticket.”

Equally, a professor of political economic system, Pat Utomi, warned that he would withdraw his help for Obi if the previous Anambra governor accepted a vice-presidential candidacy.

Our reporters gathered that the hardline posture of Obi’s loyalists had begun to gas hostility between his camp and that of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

In a submit on his X deal with on Tuesday, Atiku cautioned each his supporters and people of Obi in opposition to verbal assaults, warning that such actions had been undermining opposition unity.