Obi has been switching parties since 2014, nobody forced him – APC chair

The National Chairman of Nigeria's All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has refuted allegations that the ruling party is orchestrating crises and defections within opposition parties. Yilwatda asserted that the presidential candidate for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has been changing political affiliations since 2014, independent of any APC influence.

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Nobody in APC chased Peter Obi out of PDP. Nobody from APC chased Obi out of the Labour Party. Nobody in APC chased him out of the Labour Party to ADC or chased him out of ADC again to NDC.

Speaking on Channels Television, Yilwatda stated that Obi's party-switching predates the current administration. He argued that the APC could not be blamed for Obi's movements, questioning how the APC, when in opposition, could have influenced Obi's decisions. Yilwatda characterized the internal issues within parties like the Labour Party and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as "self-inflicted wounds."

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He started moving from his party long before now, during the time of President Jonathan in 2014. It means that APC has been the person chasing him from 2015 till date, when we were even opposition?

He further explained that opposition leaders are primarily seeking platforms that guarantee them electoral tickets. Yilwatda cited Obi's departure from the Labour Party to the ADC, and then to the NDC, as evidence of this search for a viable candidacy. He suggested that if the APC intended to destabilize Obi, they could have prevented him from securing a ticket with the NDC, implying they lack such control.

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This is a group of people who have a self-inflicted wound. Every day, they move from party to party.

Yilwatda also drew a distinction between the formation of the APC and the current opposition coalition. He described the APC's founding in 2013 as being based on a common vision, with then-presidential hopeful Bola Tinubu serving as a unifying figure. In contrast, he characterized the current opposition leaders as driven by personal ambition and a quest for electoral opportunities.

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When he left Labour Party, he moved to ADC. He came to ADC, he discovered that he couldn’t get an automatic ticket. That’s why he left to NDC. And in NDC now, he has gotten his ticket.