Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi and ex-Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso have formally joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress, calling on members to avoid litigation and focus on advancing the nation’s development.
The two opposition heavyweights made the call on Sunday in Abuja during their formal reception into the party, amid ongoing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Obi declared his switch to the NDC shortly after announcing his resignation from the African Democratic Congress, which he joined last December.
Addressing party leaders and supporters, the presidential aspirant said their decision to join the NDC was driven by the need for a peaceful political platform devoid of internal crises.
He said, “First of all, sincerely, I join in thanking the leader of our party. And I assure him that we are coming here to be part of the peaceful family that will work hard to build a united, secure, prosperous Nigeria that will work for everybody.
“Kwankwaso is also a leader who has been at the forefront of education, providing primary care and putting people out of poverty because we want to build a country where a child of nobody can be somebody without knowing anybody. That is what we want to do.
“We are using this occasion to plead with the government of today. You know that I contested the election in 2023 in a different party. Rabiu Kwankwaso contested the same election in a different party.”
Continuing, Obi accused the current government of fuelling persistent crises within opposition parties, leading to endless litigation that forced him and others to abandon their former platforms.
He noted their hope for stability was quickly tested by unresolved disputes in every new party.
“The government of today has ensured that they put up crisis upon crisis, which led to several lawsuits in our party that made us abandon those parties and move to another party, thinking that our situation would abate.
“But what we saw was a carry-over of the same problem from where we came from – similar unresolved crisis, litigations and everything. Today, we have left that place to NDC, where the leader has already assured us that they have no litigation. So, we are pleading with them for the sake of democracy. Please, don’t come here. We want to have peace. We don’t want cases.
“We are equally pleading with the judiciary to please end the cases with parties so we can face the job of building a new Nigeria that is possible and face the job of revival, where our country is deteriorating today. So, we want to start building. Please, let there be no litigation. Party members, please don’t go to court.
“We want to build a party. Those of us who are lawyers want you to be good practitioners. We don’t want to spend our time in litigation and fighting ourselves. Let’s spend our time dealing with issues affecting the ordinary Nigerian. This ship is about to sail. Please do everything possible to join,” he urged
In his remarks, Kwankwaso said their engagement with the NDC leadership showed strong alignment in ideology and governance priorities, particularly in education, youth empowerment, and national unity.
Leave a Reply