Dr Peter Okeh, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says the 2027 presidential election will be less about party lines and more about Nigerians rising up against the hardship they’ve endured under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking with journalists in Abakaliki on Sunday, July 6, Okeh described the growing momentum behind the newly formed opposition coalition as a response to worsening poverty, hunger, and insecurity across the country.
“I am absolutely thrilled with the birth of this coalition. It’s indeed an amazing development in the political history of our country,” he said.
He praised the decision of prominent Nigerians to unite under a common front, saying it offered hope in a country battered by “abject poverty, extreme hunger, monumental corruption, insecurity, and state capture” allegedly imposed by the APC-led government.
“This coalition has all it takes to defeat the current government,” he said. “The next election will be an election like no other, it will be an election between the APC and all the suffering Nigerians, home and abroad.”
Okeh insisted that the people are now more politically aware and ready to defend their votes at all costs.
“This time, Nigerians will protect their votes, and no one will be given a free ride to rig the election like they did in the past,” he declared.
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He also expressed strong support for former Anambra governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to lead the coalition into the next election.
“I actually believe that Mr Peter Obi is the best person to head the coalition. He has all it takes to win the election,” he said. “Politics, they say, is local, and Peter Obi has solid grassroots followers, the Obidient Movement, behind him.”
According to him, Obi has grown significantly as a political figure since 2023 and is better prepared for the task ahead.
“He has learnt a lot of lessons from the experience of 2023. He has reached out and travelled the nooks and crannies of this country, much more than he did before the last general elections,” Okeh said.
He added that Nigerians were more united in their frustration with the current administration and eager to chart a new path forward.
“Nigerians have tasted the bitter pill of the current government, and, as such, people are now more united against the government in power than ever,” he said.
Okeh wrapped up by stressing the need for fairness and political balance, suggesting that many citizens would be displeased if the South is denied the opportunity to complete an eight-year presidency.
“Many Nigerians will be uncomfortable to see that the southern part of the country is not allowed to complete the eight-year tenure, as has now become the norm in our politics,” he said.