It’s Too Late For Peter Obi To Return To Labour Party – Nenadi Usman

Nenadi Usman, the interim chairperson of the Labour Party (LP) said that it would be “legally impossible” for Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State, to secure the party’s presidential ticket for the 2027 election.

Peter Obi ran for president in 2023 on the LP platform, finishing third behind Atiku Abubakar and President Bola Tinubu, who won the election.

However, Obi left the Labour Party in December 2025 to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC), where he is now among those vying for the party’s presidential nomination.

Amid ongoing leadership issues in the ADC, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) derecognizing its factions, there has been increasing speculation about Obi possibly returning to the LP.

In a recent interview on Arise Television, Usman explained that the LP’s rules and electoral procedures make it impossible for anyone to join the party after the list of eligible participants has been closed and submitted to INEC.

“It will actually be too late for him to come back,” Nenadi Usman said.

“At some point, we close the register, and once we close it 21 days before the primaries and submit the e-register to INEC, you can’t come from behind the door for us to register you and for you to contest. That would be legally impossible.”

Despite her position on this issue, Usman acknowledged Obi’s pivotal role in the party’s success during the 2023 election, noting that his candidacy garnered a great deal of support.

“Peter Obi really took the party to great heights in 2023,” she said, adding that many people, herself included, joined the LP because of him.

“He convinced me to come with him to the Labour Party. And not just me, many people joined because we believed in equity and fair play,” she added, explaining that their dissatisfaction with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) zoning decision had played a role in their defection.

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