Corruption ends once you join APC, claims Peter Obi

Peter Obi, presidential candidate for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has asserted that Nigeria's political parties are devoid of ideology. He specifically criticized the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), suggesting that politicians accused of corruption find their past transgressions absolved once they defect to the party.

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36 governors support the president. The people in the states are not necessarily with them. It is one thing for a governor to support the president and another for the people to support him. The answer is no.

Speaking on Channels Television's 'Politics Today,' Obi dismissed the notion that the endorsement of President Bola Tinubu by nearly all state governors would ensure victory in the 2027 presidential election. He argued that governors do not necessarily represent the true wishes of their constituents, distinguishing between a governor's support and the populace's backing.

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What I am asking for is a free, fair and credible election, which will go down as part of his legacy.

Obi also accused the ruling party of actively destabilizing opposition parties, drawing parallels between the situations in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the NDC with what he claims happened to the Labour Party (LP). He called for free, fair, and credible elections, urging Nigerian youth to demand such a process as a legacy for the current administration.

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For me, there is no political party in Nigeria today that has an ideology. There is none. Otherwise, the ideology of the APC would be that if you are corrupt and you move to the APC, you are no longer corrupt.

Reflecting on past elections, Obi cited the example of former President Yar'Adua, who acknowledged flaws in his own election process and committed to ensuring future elections were free and fair, even at personal risk. Obi believes that Nigerian politics currently lacks the necessary competency, capacity, compassion, character, and commitment, attributing this partly to the government's alleged refusal to allow stability in the political space and interference in the judiciary and electoral processes.

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What Nigerians need is competency, capacity, compassion, character and commitment.