• LP renames Directorate of Obidient Affairs
As crises continue to rock the Labour Party (LP) over the status of the Obidient Movement, the presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 General Elections, Peter Obi, has said that the movement cannot be annexed by any political party.
Speaking against the backdrop that LP had created a directorate for the Obidient Movement and appointed eight ‘Obidient’ members to control its affairs, Obi said no political party could create a directorate for the movement.Obi, who is the principal mentor of the movement in Nigeria, said the movement was beyond a political party and could not be so annexed and subsumed in to one.
A statement by his spokesperson, Dr Yunusa Tanko, quoted Obi as saying on his X handle: “I like to categorically state that the Obidient Movement is not a directorate in any particular political party. Any individual or individuals claiming to be leaders of this non-existent directorate are simply not members of the broader Obidient Movement.
“There may be a youth mobilisation directorate in political parties but the Obidient Movement is far beyond a particular political party. The Obidient Movement is a diverse and inclusive collective that transcends traditional political, religious, and ethnic affiliations.
“It is not domiciled within any particular party or headquartered in any particular part of the country. Its membership spans across Africa and the globe, comprising individuals from various backgrounds, including rural communities, and public, private, and corporate entities united by a shared vision for a new and better Nigeria.
“Guided by the principles of adaptive and transformative change, progress, discipline, and democratic values, the Obidient Movement advocates fairness, equity, inclusivity, and justice.
Reacting to the clarification by Obi, the party renamed the Obidient Directorate as Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration.” Obiora, in another statement, noted: “Following the controversies arising from the creation of the Directorate of Obidient Affairs in the party, the Directorate is hereby renamed the Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration.
“The inauguration will take place on Saturday June 8, 2024 at the party’s National Secretariat, Utako, Abuja by 10 a.m.”