2027: Abure Rules Out Peter Obi, Considers Alliance With Tinubu or Atiku
Former Labour Party National Chairman Julius Abure says he is willing to align with President Bola Tinubu or former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 presidential election but has ruled out supporting Peter Obi.
Abure said his choice would depend on the outcome of a pending Supreme Court case over the Labour Party’s leadership, as well as his political interests, ideology and the acceptability of any candidate seeking his support.
In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, the former LP chairman said he would consult his supporters and decide on a preferred candidate if the Supreme Court failed to deliver its judgment before the end of November.
He said he remained open to working with any of the major presidential contenders except Obi, who left the Labour Party and joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
“We are open to working with any of the major candidates,” Abure said. “I am very sure that I wouldn’t support Peter Obi for the 2027 general election. But I am open to an alignment with others.”
Abure also ruled out supporting the NDC because of Obi’s presence in the party, insisting that he was not currently negotiating with any presidential candidate.
He said any political decision would involve his followers, whose interests he claimed remained tied to the Labour Party structure under his leadership.
The former chairman further threatened to mobilise his supporters against Obi, accusing the former Anambra State governor of squandering the goodwill and political capital he gained during the 2023 presidential election.
Abure alleged that Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti undermined the Labour Party’s leadership by dismantling its organisational structure from the ward level to the national level. He also accused them of imposing a parallel National Working Committee.
The dispute between Abure and Obi followed a prolonged leadership crisis in the Labour Party, with disagreements over the party’s national convention and control of its organisational structure.
While Abure accused Obi and Otti of undermining his leadership, allies of the former presidential candidate argued that Abure had breached an agreement to conduct an inclusive convention beginning at the ward and state levels.
Obi eventually moved away from the Labour Party structure and pursued a new political platform, first through the African Democratic Congress before joining the NDC.
By Oluwafemi Shodipe.
