Olusegun Ariyo
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been urged to shelve his presidential ambition and support Mr Peter Obi to secure the 2027 presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
The call was made by members of the pro-Obi group, Obedients, in Umuahia on Saturday, following their mega rally held in celebration of Mr Obi’s 64th birthday.
The peaceful rally, dubbed the ‘One Million Man-March for Obi’, was held simultaneously in Umuahia, Aba, Ohafia, and Uzuakoli.
Addressing journalists in Umuahia, the Abia State chairman of the Organising Committee and one of the coordinators of the Obidients in the state, Chibuzor Obiesili, appealed to Atiku to sacrifice his presidential ambition in support of Obi.
According to him, Obi can fix Nigeria’s problems if allowed to lead the country.
He commended Atiku and other opposition leaders for forming a coalition against President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid. Still, he argued that ceding the ticket to Obi, a Southerner, could be the game changer.
He said, “We thank those behind the formation of the coalition. We appeal that the coalition should consider Obi as its presidential ticket because he has the national appeal needed to uproot the ruling APC.
“We plead with Atiku to please step aside for Obi. Atiku has tried his best for Nigeria, but his greatest sacrifice and gift to Nigeria will be to support Obi to get the ADC presidential ticket in 2027 so that Nigeria can move forward.”
On the birthday rally, Obiesili said it was staged voluntarily to celebrate Obi, whom he described as a consistent advocate for the poor.
