Victor Ezeja
Not less than 261 conveners of the Obidient Movement support groups have kicked against the creation of an ‘Obidient Directorate’ within the Labour Party.
The support groups called on the Labour Party national chairman Julius Abure to halt every attempt to bring Obidient Movement under the party.
The Obidients made their stance known in a statement signed by Mubarak Bawa for the Obidient Conveners Collective Comprising 223 Peter Obi Support Group Conveners, and 14 conveners of other Peter Obi support groups across the country.
They noted in the statement that the Movement which comprises millions of Nigerians committed to the vision of a new Nigeria, began rallying behind Peter Obi’s candidacy in 2019 and predates his entry into Labour Party. They contended that the Obidient Movement “is a portent force” that is more than Labour Party and can’t be subsumed under the party.
They said: “We, the leading 261 conveners of the Obidient Movement support groups, are compelled to issue this statement, rejecting Julius Abure’s brazen attempt to co-opt the Obidient Movement by creating an ‘Obedient Directorate’ within the Labour Party.
“Let the records reflect: the Obidient Movement comprises millions of Nigerian citizens committed to the vision of a New Nigeria. This movement began in earnest in 2019, rallying behind the candidacy of His Excellency Peter Obi, and gained unstoppable momentum in 2022 when Peter Obi declared his intention to run for president.”
The conveners claimed that the Obidient Movement’s alignment with the Labour Party was due to Peter Obi’s presidential candidacy and that led to a significant electoral success for the party which won seven Senate seats, and 35 House of Representatives seats in the 2023 general elections.
They said subsuming the Obidient Movement under the Labour Party is an attempt to “undermine Peter Obi’s popularity and the unstoppable force of the Obidient Movement.”
They said: “Abure’s unilateral decision to proceed without consulting Peter Obi or the core of the movement, the Obidient Support Group, exposes his bad faith intentions.”
The conveners said that by appointing Marcel Ngogbehei as director of the Obidient Directorate Abure is engaging in a game of deceit. According to them, Ngogbehei is a UK-based Nigerian from Imo State but posed as an Edo indigene during the 2023 campaigns, and is not suitable for any leadership role within the Obidient Movement.
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“Ngogbehei’s attempts to portray himself as ‘The Obidient Leader’ are laughable. The Obidient Movement recognises no leader other than Peter Obi. Ngogbehei, a grifter with a tainted past, is not, and will never be, a figure of influence within our ranks.
“The Obidient Movement should be the beacon of democratic ideals, transparency, and grassroots organisation for the Labour Party, not the other way around.
“In conclusion, we categorically reject the creation of an Obidient Directorate within the Labour Party. We explicitly reject the appointment of a charlatan like Marcel Ngogbehei to any position of authority within the movement.
“We call on Julius Abure to halt this destructive plot and engage in sincere dialogue with the true stakeholders of the Obidient Movement, starting with His Excellency Peter Obi.”
They warned that anyone collaborating with Abure on the Obidient Directorate under Labour Party or donating money does so at their own peril declaring that “This directorate has no connection to the true Obidient Movement and is merely a cunning ploy to dismantle Peter Obi’s political structure.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
