• Obi not in ADC for VP slot, but to complete South’s term, says Tanko
• Momodu warns ADC against conflicts as Atiku looks elsewhere for VP

Former governor of old Anambra State, Jim Nwobodo, yesterday, declared the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, as the most “respectable presidential candidate in Nigeria”, praying for the realisation of his aspirations for the country.

On insinuations that Obi is in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to play the second fiddle, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, said he would not be allowed to become the presidential or vice-presidential candidate of ADC.

However, to set the record straight, the National Coordinator of the Obedient Movement Worldwide, Dr Yunusa Tanko, affirmed that Obi, who remains a leading contender for Nigeria’s presidency in 2027, will not serve as running mate to any politician in ADC.

On December 13, 2025, Obi pulled his structure in LP, Obidient Movement and elsewhere to join the ADC, where former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former governor/minister, Chibuike Amaechi, are already pulling weight.

Following the move, publisher of Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu, cautioned ADC to avoid the internal conflicts similar to those experienced in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In a post on X yesterday, Momodu reflected on his attendance at a 2025 gathering in Abuja, where opposition parties coalesced around ADC to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

One week after Obi declared his intention to contest the 2027 presidential ballot on the platform of ADC, Atiku has begun scouting for a possible running mate beyond his 2019 partner under PDP.

Nwobodo, who also lamented the inability of the Igbo to occupy the presidential seat of the country many decades after Independence, stated that forefathers of the country, such as Nnamdi Azikiwe would be turning in their graves in anger by the non-realisation of their aspirations

While receiving Obi and his associates, including former governors Okwy Nwodo (Enugu), Sam Egwu (Ebonyi), Senators Ben Obi and Gilbert Nnaji, among others, at his country home in Amechi-Awkunanaw, Enugu South, Nwobodo said he had always wanted to know the position of the Igbo in Nigeria.

Obi and his associates went to celebrate the New Year with the former senator.

He said: “I feel great, I thank God for this because it’s a mark of respect, and that’s what we are known for. We respect elders. I’m no longer just Jim Nwobodo, the politician; I’m an elder statesman. That’s why they came to see me, and I pray God to make things easy for us this time around.

“I have known this young man (pointing at Obi) since when he was governor and we have been friends. I believe that, God willing, because you have to put God first, whatever we have asked, God will do it. Obi is a candidate that is respectable and acceptable by all.”

On his part, Obi said the visit was a yearly one to celebrate Nwobodo for his contributions towards the development of the country.

For Ben Obi, the visit was not political, as a delegation would soon visit to brief Nwobodo on the December 31, 2025, declaration in Enugu that led to the switch to the ADC.

Tanko, while speaking on Eagle 102.5 FM, monitored by The Guardian, dismissed speculations that the ADC is under the influence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, stressing that everybody in that coalition contributed their hard-earned money.

“Nobody owns that political party, please, and please, don’t get it wrong. I am only focusing on my candidate. I’m selling my candidate to the public based on his capacity and credibility, and what he has to offer Nigerians.

That’s all,” Tanko said, describing Obi as a candidate capable of delivering what the Obedient Movement calls a “moral solution” to the country’s leadership challenges.

The political activist outlined that Obi’s administration would focus on economic discipline, national security and investment in agriculture, while ensuring that fuel prices are regulated sustainably.

“Somebody who is concerned about the public will not tax them beyond their reach,” he added.

Speaking in an interview on The Clarity Zone Podcast, Bwala claimed that Obi lacks the capacity to serve even as director-general of any coalition movement.

The presidential aide added that the former Anambra governor would eventually contest the next election on a different platform, since he lost control of the political structure he built after the 2023 election, including his influence in the National Assembly.

Momodu wrote: “I was happy to see a retired Army General, David Mark, as Chairman, knowing he would brook no nonsense. But in recent times, some groups have introduced aggression and rambunctiousness into a fledgling cooperation. How can a coalition work if some groups insist they must produce the top ticket by donation and coronation, without election or persuasion?”

He warned that ADC must enforce discipline before internal disagreements escalate, citing the former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, who consolidated power within the PDP. “ADC should be a party of love and not a Fuji house of commotion,” he said.

The warning coincided with renewed clarifications from the Obidient Movement Worldwide, which has emphasised that Obi will not serve as a vice-presidential candidate to any politician, asserting that its support is exclusively for his emergence as Nigeria’s President in 2027.

Obi had dumped PDP for LP ahead of the 2023 general elections and emerged as the party’s presidential standard-bearer in the election.

Atiku’s shopping for VP supports ADC’s assertions that it would employ credible, transparent and democratic methodology to select candidates for the 2027 general election, particularly the Presidential ticket.

Obi had, while announcing his decision to formally join the coalition platform of ADC, declared that he is in the race for the presidency and not to play second fiddle, stressing that his works after the 2023 election were not intended for the office of a Vice President.

Also, bearing his mind on his rumoured interest in the VP position of ADC, Amaechi remarked that he had become so presidential to consider a spare tyre role.

The Buhari-era minister, who spoke at a public event in Abuja on December 17 last year, explained that of all the reasons that dissuade him from accepting such a position, the governance structure in the country makes it possible that he may quarrel with his boss, as such, “I would rather be a minister than be a vice president.”

Searches by The Guardian revealed that Atiku, who contested the 2019 and 2023 presidential polls as PDP candidate, has ruled out Obi and Amaechi as possible running mates, if he clinches the party’s presidential ticket.

This is just as South East stakeholders across party lines warned that any politician openly canvassing to be running mate on the ADC platform may be treated as disrupters of the zone’s chances of producing a Nigerian President after 28 years of the Fourth Republic.