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Former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Mr. Peter Obi has been warned by a group of young political leaders known as the South-South Emerging Leaders’ Forum (SELF) not to challenge the coalition-backed opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the presidency.

The forum claims that if the ADC does not give Mr. Obi its ticket on a platter, he will probably leave the alliance, just as he did prior to the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) 2022 presidential primary election.

The group said in a statement released Thursday in Abuja and signed by Comrade Benjamin Kolowei, its National Coordinator, that if Obi keeps using blackmail to force the coalition to give its presidential ticket to the South, the Northern region should also begin pushing for it in order to equal the 18 years that Southern Nigeria has controlled the presidency.

“Why is Peter Obi afraid of an open and transparent primary election?” Kolowei queried.

“We note that Mr. Peter Obi and his Obidient Movement, in recent times, have resorted to threatening and blackmailing the leadership of the coalition. We make bold to tell the former Anambra governor that such a strategy will not work; in fact, it has failed woefully.

“Record has shown that Mr. Obi has a history of running away from primary elections, which is the major aspect of democratic culture. If Mr. Obi claims to be a democrat, why is he always avoiding primary elections? Why is he looking for a free presidential ticket? He did that as a governor and, as recently as 2022, Mr. Obi abandoned PDP when it was time for the primary election.

“As a forum of professionals and emerging leaders, we will not fold our hands and tolerate Peter Obi to frustrate the ongoing arrangement to rescue our nation and have a credible alternative to the APC.

“We hereby call on Mr. Peter Obi to stop his pretentious lifestyle as if he is a saint or the only messiah Nigeria is waiting for. If Mr. Obi wants to participate in a democratic contest, he should respect the rules of the game. Though he has never fought or contributed to the development of the democratic process in Nigeria, so he does not know what it takes.

“Obi and his Obidients should learn early that democracy is about contests, not about free lunch or free tickets. It is not about blackmail.

“If Obi is looking for where he will be given a free presidential ticket, the door is open. Although we have gathered reliably that Mr. Obi has secured another platform which he will soon unveil to contest in 2027, it is high time the leaders of the ADC coalition opened their two eyes. We are making it public that Peter Obi is not ready to cooperate and work with coalition leaders,” the group declared.

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