Federal lawmaker representing the Nnewi North/Nnewi South/Ekwusigo federal constituency, Peter Ifeanyi Uzokwe, has stated that opposition federal lawmakers under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition gave Peter Obi an ultimatum to leave the ADC or risk a mass exit from the party.
Honorable Uzokwe revealed this while speaking on the podcast Conversations with Prof Jideofor, insisting that, contrary to reports suggesting that Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso left the ADC over fears of participating in the party’s Primaries, the coalition itself was internally strained and poorly structured to accommodate diverse political interests.
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According to the Honorable Member, tensions within the coalition escalated to a point where leaders had to take a decisive position on Obi’s continued stay in the party.
“We gave Peter Obi an ultimatum to leave the ADC. Peter Obi is our leader. We told him that if he didn’t leave the ADC, we would leave. The decision to leave the ADC was our own, but the decision to join the NDC was that of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso,” he said.
Honorable Uzokwe further alleged that during a discussion at the residence of Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president implied that the ADC structure was largely driven as a personal political arrangement.
He added that the coalition eventually collapsed from within due to unresolved internal disagreements, leading to the exit of key figures and lawmakers.
Recall that the House of Representatives recently witnessed a major realignment as 17 lawmakers, including Honorable Peter Ifeanyi Uzokwe, defected from the African Democratic Congress to the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) during plenary.
