Peter Obi attends International Leaders Forum in Chicago

The Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and 200 other distinguished political leaders from over 91 countries have been invited to participate in the 2024 International Leaders Forum (ILF) in Chicago, Illinois.

Obi, who expressed gratitude for being among the 3 Nigerians that were recognized by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), joined former heads of government and senior politicians from around the world to observe the Democratic National Convention and engage in discussions on democratic trends and challenges.

The ILF, which takes place from August 19–22, aims to foster open dialogue and trust among leaders from diverse backgrounds and ideologies.

Participants will share experiences and learn from each other to build resilient democracies.
Obi described the forum as an opportunity for constructive engagement and fruitful deliberations on global democracy trends, saying he looks forward to being part of the conversations.

“Upon personal invitation from the Board of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), I along with two other eminent Nigerians, and about two hundred other distinguished political leaders from over 91 countries, including former Heads of Governments, were invited to participate in the 2024 International Leaders Forum (ILF) on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, holding on 19-22 August 2024. “I am honoured and grateful to Senator Thomas Daschle and the Board of NDI for the gracious invitation.

“Over the years, NDI has identified and invited key senior politicians and policymakers from around the world to observe an important and rich facet of the United States of America’s democratic process.

“The ILF gathering serves as an opportunity for such leaders drawn from across diverse nationalities, ideologies and geographies to build relationships based on their commonality of shared experiences while identifying, peculiarities as well as common interests and addressing pressing challenges to democratic institutions, values and norms.

As President Tamara Wittes stated “Democracy is about communities making collective decisions even when people may have real differences of view – and so healthy democracy relies on fostering open dialogue and trust. Without that trust, every political argument and every election becomes a zero-sum, existential battle.”

“The ILF offer those of us from Africa’s nascent and evolving democracies the opportunity to share our experiences and learn from others, various norms germane to building resilient democracies.

“I am elated to be part of this process of conversations on global democracy trends and look forward to what promises to be very fruitful deliberations and constructive engagement.”