‘Peter Obi Will Join APC’ – Tinubu’s Aide Claims

Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on media and policy, has claimed that Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate for the Labour Party (LP), will not run for the 2027 presidential election and may soon leave the party.

In an interview with TVC on Wednesday, Bwala stated that the former governor of Anambra State is likely to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 elections.

“Do you know we’re emptying the Labour Party? Not because we are asking them to come but because people are joining us. Valentine Ozigbo has joined us, Balami has joined us, and even Peter Obi will join us,” Bwala said.

“Peter Obi will not run in the Labour Party. For Valentine Ozigbo, who is actually the custodian of Peter Obi, to come to our party, I know for a fact that Peter Obi will join us,” he added.

Bwala also described the defection of Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, from the APC to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as “insignificant.” He accused the SDP of producing weekly announcements to attract media attention.

“You see, after one or two weeks of this mini-dramatic activity — because the way they scheme these things is that every week, you hear a breaking news story about a ‘gladiator’ joining the SDP — they aim to dominate the media space,” he explained.

“By the time the two weeks are over and they have enjoyed their momentary coverage, they will start fighting over who will be president or vice-president,” he continued.

Bwala suggested that el-Rufai chose not to join the PDP because he could not control the situation there, noting that el-Rufai had stated that the chairman of twas SDP is his friend, which influenced his decision to join the SDP.

El-Rufai announced his departure from the APC on Monday, citing “conflicting values” with the ruling party.