Nenadi Usman, interim caretaker committee chairperson of the Labour Party (LP), says it would be “legally impossible” for Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra, to secure the party’s 2027 presidential ticket.
Obi contested the 2023 presidential election on the LP platform, finishing third behind former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and eventual winner of the general election President Bola Tinubu.
The ex-governor, however, quit the LP in December 2025 for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), where he is one of the hopefuls for the party’s presidential ticket.
Amid a leadership crisis within the ADC, culminating in the derecognition of its factions by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), speculation has grown over Obi’s possible return to the LP.
Speaking during an appearance on Arise Television on Wednesday night, Usman said the party’s rules and electoral guidelines leave no room for late entrants once the register of eligible participants has been closed and submitted to INEC.
“It will actually be too late for him to come back,” she 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 stance, Usman acknowledged Obi’s significant role in the party’s rise during the 2023 poll, noting that his candidacy attracted widespread support.
“Peter Obi really took the party to great heights in 2023,” she said, adding that many current members, including herself, 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 stated, noting that dissatisfaction with the zoning decision of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) influenced their defection.
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