A factional spokesperson for the Labour Party, Abayomi Arabambi, has said the party regrets selecting Peter Obi as its presidential candidate in the 2023 elections. He made this known during a press conference held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Friday, July 11.
Arabambi explained that the party had the option of choosing Faduri Joseph instead of Obi. Faduri is a licensed nurse in the United States and a well-known businessman. According to Arabambi, Faduri would have been a better candidate, with a more effective approach to handling Nigeria’s problems if he had become President.
He also revealed that Peter Obi’s involvement with a coalition linked to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has made the Labour Party leadership decide to expel him. Arabambi said the party is no longer comfortable with Obi’s recent political moves and has started the process of removing him.
“Perhaps the most damning indictment of Obi’s candidacy is his ethnic polarisation that shadowed his campaign. While Faduri stood as a truly national figure, with support cutting across regions, Obi’s movement, intentionally or not, became a vehicle for tribal sentiment.
His refusal to firmly denounce Kanu’s secessionist rhetoric, his selective outrage over insecurity, and his tendency to frame national issues through a partisan lens exposed a troubling parochialism beneath his “unifier” facade.
Nigeria does not need a president who excuses extremism for political convenience. It needs a leader who will uphold the rule of law while addressing legitimate grievances, something Faduri embodied, and Obi failed to possess.
The Labour Party’s decision to sideline Faduri for Obi was a blunder with lasting consequences. Instead of a leader with depth, discipline, and a demonstrable blueprint for national renewal, Nigeria got a populist whose greatest skill is telling people what they want to hear.
The 2027 election must not repeat this error. Nigeria needs leaders like Faduri Oluwadare Joseph—men and women who understand that governance is not about slogans, but about substance, sacrifice, and systemic change” he said
