Dele Farotimi, a spokesman for the OBI/DATTI Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), claimed on Tuesday that the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum joined the Labour Party to actualize the presidential ambition of the party’s candidate, Peter Obi. He claimed that they had discovered the ideal candidate in Obi in terms of competence, equity, and justice.
The 2023 Verdict on Channels Television, where Farotimi made a live appearance, observed that the top sociopolitical organisations in the South and North-Central geopolitical zones had already voiced their support for a president of Igbo descent before Obi’s emergency.
He pointed out that the groups had highlighted crucial problems that were affecting Nigeria and needed to be addressed more than two years prior.
The organisations, according to Farotimi, had already chosen a stance. He continued by saying that they had discovered the ideal candidate in terms of competence, equality, and justice in Obi.
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The human rights activist stated that the Southern and Middle Belt elites all backed Obi because they thought he understood the need to reexamine the nation’s government and make it work for Nigerians.
Because [Obi] belonged to the Labour Party, Farotimi explained, “we naturally attended the party with him, though perhaps not as Labour Party card-carrying members.”
“We came out with our position publicly – I’m talking about the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum, which comprises Ohanaeze, Afenifere, PANDEF, and the Middle Belt Forum,” he said.
“All four came together over two years ago and we were speaking publicly about the need for a power shift. After a point, we all came together; we spoke to the need for power to shift, for the sake of equity and justice, to the South-East. All this time, nobody was focusing on Peter Obi.”
“But in recognition of the fact that Labour Party presents an opportunity and the platform for the actualisation of these ideals that we have been speaking to all these years.
“If he had remained in the PDP, we may or may not have supported him. He may or may not even have been the one we would have been supporting.
“But today, based on the objective realities on the ground, he is in the Labour Party. We are not concerned about tribal consensuses. We took our positions based on the justice and equity of the situation.”
