2023: Obi visits NEF leader, Abdullahi, as Sowore accuses OBJ, IBB, Abdulasalmi of backing LP candidate

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 General Elections, Dr Peter Obi, Friday, paid a visit to the home of the Chairman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Prof. Ango Abdullahi, as part of his nationwide consultations ahead of next year’s poll.

The visit comes amid allegations made by the Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Mr. Omoyele Sowore, who had, Thursday, claimed that his Labour Party rival, Obi was receiving heavy backing from some of the country’s past military leaders, including retired Generals Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), Abdulsalami Abubakar, as well as Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and the NEF Chairman. Ango Abdullahi.

Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, also, Friday, paid a visit to the country home of his running mate and Vice Presidential candidate in the 2023 General Elections, Dr Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed in Kaduna.

Both Ango Abdullahi and Datti Baba-Ahmed are from Kaduna State.

Addressing newsmen at the home of the NEF leader, Obi said it was meant to seek the blessings of the Northern Elders leader, as well as, consult with the elder statesman, ‘on ways to move the Nigeria forward.’

“I came to get blessings and fatherly advice as well as discuss some political issues with the elder statesman.

“This is in view of his position, especially in the north and his persistent agitation for good democratic leadership in the country.”

“Because right now the country is not productive, Nigerians are in hunger, they are jobless and are looking for a new life. Despite the vast and abundant farmlands in the north, Nigerians are still hungry as we continue to depend on oil, thereby abandoning one of the most important natural resources.

“We must come together and make Nigeria a new nation, a productive nation that can work well for all of us.”

Meanwhile, the AAC Presidential candidate, Sowore, has taken to his social media platforms to register allegations against his Labour Party opposition, Obi, as he claimed that the latter was being sponsored by a host of the country’s past leaders and influential figures, concluding that ‘the people that ruined Nigeria are the ones fronting for him. May it never happen that we work with these criminals!’

Sowore in a tweet via his verified Twitter handle, Thursday, wrote: ”Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida, Aliyu Gusau, Abubakar Abdusalam and Ango Abdulahi are @PeterObi’s “God fathers” the people that ruined Nigeria are the ones fronting for him. May it never happen that we work with these criminals! #WeCantContinueLikeThis,” wrote Sowore via his Twitter handle.”

Sowore has doubled down on his attack on Obi with the latest statement, which has been consistent since the emergence of the former Anambra State governor as the Labour Party candidate in the 2023 poll.

 In addition, the activist also took to his Facebook account, Thursday, to claim that Obi already has an agreement with some past Nigerian rulers to actualize his 2023 ambitions.

Meanwhile, so far, Obi has publicly received the endorsements of the Northern Elders Forum, the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, whose leader, Pa Ayo Adesanya, earlier in the week, stated only the LP candidate ‘has the capacity to rule independently,’ compared to the other candidates lined up for the 2023 polls.