A chieftain of the Labour Party (LP) and leader of the Obidient Youth Ambassadors, Meche Oswald, has blamed the recent wave of defections in the party on a controversial statement made by Peter Obi, the 2023 LP presidential candidate.
Oswald expressed concerns that Obi’s recent remarks about the Obidient Movement’s independence from any political party contributed to the departure of LP lawmakers to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
About six LP lawmakers last year defected to the ruling APC.
Obi had, in a Twitter post, observed that the Obidient Movement was not a directorate of any particular political party and that its members were free to align with different political affiliations.
But Oswald, in a statement on Thursday, argued that Obi’s assertion, albeit unintentional, implies that Obidients are at liberty to affiliate with any political party or group of their choice.
He linked Obi’s statement to the numerous defections of lawmakers elected under the platform of the LP to the ruling APC.
Oswald revealed that one of the defectors, a member of the House of Representatives, privately admitted that Obi’s words influenced his decision to leave the Labour Party.
He said: “Upon scrutinizing the implications of Peter Obi’s statement, I am compelled to express my reservations regarding its potential consequences. In hindsight, I wish he had refrained from making that statement or, at the very least, sought counsel before sharing his thoughts.
“This sentiment suggests that he does not believe the Obidient Movement should be tied to a single political party. I dare say that some individuals who defected from the Labour Party to the APC did so largely due to the perceived ambiguity in Obi’s statement.
“I had a conversation with one such individual that defected recently, a member of the Federal House of Representatives. He revealed that they were emboldened by Obi’s words, which they interpreted as a tacit endorsement of their decision to switch parties.”
Oswald maintained that the statement by the former Anambra governor will hurt his political journey for a long time to come.
The LP chieftain further alleged that Obi may be acting under duress as a result of the pressure he faced from different quarters, especially the fear of the Director-General of the LP Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration, Marcel Ngogbehei.
“In retrospect, I wish Peter Obi had given more thought to the potential repercussions of his statement before sharing it with the public. It is possible that he was acting under duress, given the immense pressure he faced from various quarters, including the fear of Marcel Ngogbehei.
“Marcel, unfortunately, became the target of unjustified vilification, and I hope to have the opportunity to share his story in the future.
“Just as I envisaged, most of the self-seeking, power-hungry individuals who were part of those that forced Obi into making that statement have started joining other political parties. The latest brides are NRM and ADC.
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“These duplicitous and depraved characters, parading themselves as Obidients and former members of the Labour Party, had a plan to pull down the Labour Party before moving on just because they couldn’t hijack control of the party,” Oswald noted.
He alleged that Obi had inadvertently created a perception among Obidients that they can affiliate with any political party of their choice, which he said has culminated in a fragmented movement, undermining the movement’s cohesion and collective purpose.
“Abure’s honest motivation and intention were aimed at harmonizing the Obidient Movement. Now, the DMI is achieving what the Obidient Directorate was initially designed to do. If the Obidient Directorate was allowed to live, there would not be the issue of defection today,” he stated.