ABUJA — Senator Adams Oshiomhole has ridiculed former Anambra State Governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, saying his most notable achievement in office was “wearing Ojukwu’s symbol for eight years.”
Oshiomhole, a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), made the remark during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television, while addressing criticisms surrounding the recent wave of defections into the ruling APC.
He accused Obi of lacking the moral ground to criticise political cross-carpeting, describing him as a habitual defector. According to Oshiomhole, Obi’s political trajectory has seen him shift from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and eventually to the Labour Party (LP).
“My very dear friend Peter Obi, who governed Anambra for eight years — when he was there, he was only wearing Ojukwu’s symbol,” Oshiomhole said. “When he left, he joined PDP. When he lost with the PDP, he went back to Labour. And now I don’t know what he did in Labour… I hear about the Obidient Movement. I don’t know whether that is now a political party.”
He added that politicians who now condemn defections are themselves guilty of the same practice. “Check their history,” he said, referring to several high-profile opposition figures.
Oshiomhole also criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, calling him the most notable defector in Nigeria’s political history. He recalled how Atiku, while still serving as vice president, defected from the PDP to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which later merged into the APC.
“The most popular defection in Nigeria’s history is that of Atiku Abubakar. When he was vice-president, he left PDP for ACN. So, if anyone should write a book on defections, it should be him,” he said.
The Edo North senator further claimed that, unlike others, President Bola Tinubu and a few founding APC members have remained loyal to their political base without switching parties.
“It is President Bola Tinubu and a few of us who can say we have never decamped,” he stated.
Oshiomhole’s remarks come amid ongoing realignments ahead of future elections, as politicians reposition themselves within and across party lines.
