On Monday, the Labour Party, LP, clarified that there is no guarantee of an automatic ticket for any potential presidential candidate.
This statement was made by Obiorah Ifoh, the National Publicity Secretary, in response to comments from former LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who mentioned the possibility of running on the party’s platform again.
During an event in Abuja, Obi stated that he would contemplate running under the LP banner “for now.”
In response, Ifoh clarified that the party did not confirm or support this information, but also stated that the party does not object to Obi running.
The statement reads: “The attention of the leadership of the Labour Party has been drawn to the news trending in the media that the party is “celebrating” that its candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi has declared his intention to run on the platform of the party in 2027.
“I want to state emphatically that I was quoted out of context and therefore, the impression conveyed by the news was erroneous, inaccurate and does not in any way reflect the position and mood in the party.
“First, while we are not opposed to anybody running under the platform of the Labour Party in the 2027 general election, we need to make it categorically clear that the party has a long standing rule on how its candidates shall emerge and automatic ticket is not one of the routes.
“Recall that at the party’s National Convention in 2024, the party had erroneously granted automatic tickets to our former Presidential candidate and the only governor of the party, however, that decision has since been rescinded and reversed after consulting the statute books.”
