…says ‘I’ll dialogue with agitators, make sacrifices’
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, for the 2027 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, has dismissed concerns over growing political support for President Bola Tinubu from state governors, insisting that governors do not determine election outcomes.
Obi also pledged to engage and listen to agitators across the country, saying dialogue and sacrifice would be central to his efforts to rebuild national unity if elected president.
Speaking in an interview with NoireTV, the former Anambra governor said his performance in the 2023 presidential election showed that political endorsements by governors were not decisive.
“It doesn’t matter whether 36 governors are with the president. I didn’t have one governor in the last election, and I won 12 states,” Obi said.
“Even after they have stolen two from me, I won 12 states. By making Abuja a state, we now have 37 states, because that is what the judgment of the Supreme Court showed.
“Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso won one state, Kano. APC, PDP and Labour all won 12 states each. And in it, I lost two by the process of rigging. So, I would have had 14.”
Obi repeated his claim that he was rigged out of two states during the 2023 presidential election, although the outcome of the poll was upheld by the courts, including the Supreme Court.
He argued that the 2027 election should be about improving the welfare of Nigerians rather than political alliances and elite endorsements.
“So it doesn’t matter whether they took all the governors. What is important, and what this election is going to be all about, is how to make Nigeria work for the poor,” he said.
“A Nigeria where tribe, ethnicity and religion will not be the issue. The issue will be about the welfare of the people, the education of the people and the health of the people. That’s the Nigeria we want. Nigerians are hungry today. Nigerians are looking for food.”
Meanwhile, Obi has promised to adopt a dialogue-driven approach to addressing agitations across the country, saying genuine national unity can only be achieved through listening, inclusion and justice.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the spokesman of the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR), Ibrahim Umar, the media office said the former Anambra State governor made the remarks during an interaction with Nigerians in Washington, D.C., United States.
Responding to a question on how he would unite the country amid growing regional and political tensions, Obi said, “To achieve the aim of unifying the country, I will listen to all agitators, harmonise them and make some sacrifices with a view to bringing the country together.”
According to his media office, Obi believes that many agitations across Nigeria are rooted in poverty, unemployment, perceived injustice and the feeling of exclusion from the nation’s political and economic structures.
The statement added that his position should not be misconstrued as support for any particular group or individual but as a commitment to addressing the underlying causes of unrest through dialogue.
“For decades, Nigeria has leaned heavily on military and security interventions to suppress regional grievances, whether in the Southeast, the Niger Delta, the Middle Belt or the North,” the statement said.
“By shifting the strategy from active combat to active listening, Obi plans to treat agitators not just as security threats but as citizens with grievances, many of which stem from economic marginalisation, perceived injustice and institutional neglect.”
The media office further argued that “true national unity cannot be coerced; it must be built,” adding that democracy should encourage structured dialogue that restores faith in public institutions and promotes fairness and mutual respect.
Obi’s latest comments come amid ongoing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections, with opposition figures and parties exploring possible alliances to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Tinubu.
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