No one can capture South-East through defections – Peter Obi

Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has dismissed fears of Nigeria sliding intoa one-party state. Obi stated that there is no political party that can captureany region simply because a governor defects to it. He made this statement on Wednesday in Abuja while reactingto the recent defection of Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah and his Bayelsacounterpart, Douye Diri, to the ruling All Progressives Congress. According to him, the idea that a state can be captured by apolitical party through the defection of its leader belongs to Nigeria’smilitary past. “The people will decide where to go, not governors orsenators. No party will capture or win any state just because it has agovernor.“Peter Mbah is a good friend of mine, and I believe that asgovernor, he must have taken his decision based on his own political views andcalculations,” he said. The former Anambra State governor also dismissed the notionthat the South-East could be captured politically, insisting that leadership ina democracy is about persuasion, not coercion. “As for the alleged plot to capture the South-East, we arenot in a military time when you capture people. You are a leader. You tend todo the right things for them to follow you. So I don’t think anybody iscapturing anywhere,” he added. The politician called on public officials to focus on goodgovernance and policies that directly improve the lives of citizens, warningthat no amount of political realignment can guarantee loyalty from the peoplewithout performance.

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