Babachir Lawal, former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF) and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says Peter Obi never gave full commitment to the party since he joined.
Lawal spoke on Tuesday during a Prime Time interview on Arise Television.
His comments came two days after Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former governor of Kano, quit the ADC and joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
They premised their defection on ADC’s “endless court cases, internal battles” and uncertainties regarding the party’s future.
Reacting to the development, Lawal said Obi joined the coalition late and was never fully invested in its structure.
“Peter Obi joined the coalition after it had all begun for quite a long time. He had always been somebody that is very shifty when it came to ADC. We never felt his heart was in it,” he said.
Lawal said the party leadership made concessions to accommodate the former governor of Anambra by allowing him to nominate the organising secretary, adding that the decision did not pay off.
“To accommodate Peter Obi, we offered him to single-handedly bring the organising secretary of the party. We never extended that goodwill to any other member of the party,” Lawal said.
He said the offer was meant to reassure him about the party’s internal processes, but concerns about his commitment persisted after the gesture.
“We felt that if you have confidence in the party’s organising secretary, that assures you that you cannot be manipulated out, because the heart of electoral processes in a political party is the organising secretary’s office,” Lawal said.
“But you see, right from inception we suspected that his heart was not with us.”
The former SGF further attributed Obi’s exit from the party to what he described as a fear of open contest.
“I don’t think it is suspicion; I think it’s fear. And a democrat, a politician who fears election, I think, has no business being one,” Lawal said.
“He doesn’t want to participate in primaries; he prefers to be a consensus candidate, and that consensus must be him.”
Lawal said the ADC leadership was committed to maintaining fairness among its members, many of whom he described as influential figures with varying ambitions.
“This is a political party of heavyweights, former this, former that, everybody, some with ambition, some like us with no ambition. And the only way you can make progress is to create a level playing field for everybody,” he said.
He also dismissed suggestions that his past support for Obi in the 2023 elections should automatically translate into continued political alignment.
“I was never a member of the Labour Party throughout the time I was supporting Peter Obi. It just so happened that at that particular time in that election cycle, our goals aligned, and we felt that we could support each other and pursue the same goal,” he said.
“It’s not as if Peter Obi is the best product that a political party can produce to be president. There are so many other people that can make good presidential material in this country.”
The former SGF maintained that his involvement in politics predates Obi and is driven by personal convictions rather than loyalty to any figure.
“I didn’t join politics because of him… there’s no way I can tie my own ambitions, my own political inclinations to one person,” he said.
