Former members of the 2023 Presidential Campaign Council of Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, have launched a political group, Batified Obidients, to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
According to The Punch, the group announced its formation on Wednesday, saying its members had decided to support Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress after reviewing their experience during Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Adesina Fagbenro-Byron, the group said it planned to mobilise former Obi supporters, undecided voters and other Nigerians to support Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda.
It attributed its decision to what it described as differences between Tinubu and Obi in leadership capacity, governance experience and political organisation.
It also faulted the Labour Party, arguing that it was “not structurally or ideologically prepared” to govern Nigeria.
The group said its position was informed by its members’ experiences during the 2023 campaign, alleging shortcomings in talent management, diversity management and internal conflict resolution.
According to the former campaign members, some professionals who worked for Obi’s presidential bid were neither adequately recognised nor effectively deployed, raising concerns about the party’s capacity to maintain a functional political structure beyond an election.
“We say this without personal animosity. Our concern is governance, competence, and national capacity,” the group said.
It argued that Nigeria needed a leader capable of managing the country’s diversity, building political coalitions, retaining competent professionals and responding to crises while implementing reforms.
The group said its assessment favoured Tinubu over Obi in executive experience, coalition-building, legislative capacity, crisis management, reform orientation and national spread.
However, it clarified that its decision to support the President did not mean it represented the wider Obidient movement.
“We deliberately do not call ourselves the ‘Obidient Movement.’ That name is a proprietary political identity tied to Peter Obi and the Labour Party.
“We are Batified Obidients — former Obidients who have crossed over to BAT and the Renewed Hope agenda. We do not claim to speak for all Obidients,” the group said.
It said its mobilisation efforts would focus on former Obi supporters, with the aim of expanding Tinubu’s support base ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The group also pledged to defend and explain the administration’s reforms, expressing confidence that the policies would deliver better results when fully implemented.
As part of its strategy, Batified Obidients said it hoped to help Tinubu surpass the more than eight million votes he secured in the 2023 presidential election.
It added that states where Obi recorded strong electoral performances would receive particular attention.
The group said it had established a nationwide organisational structure comprising a national coordinator and secretariat, regional coordinators for the six geopolitical zones and representatives across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The regional coordinators named were Bala Abubakar for the North-West, Ekana Simeon Lamorde for the North-East, Daniel Gambo for the North-Central, Banwo Mayowa for the South-West, Izunna Desmond for the South-South and Odira Alexander for the South-East.
Its emergence comes amid growing efforts by some former Obi supporters and campaign officials to align with Tinubu ahead of the next presidential election.
Other individuals who previously worked with Obi have also declared support for the President in recent months.
“We believe in President Bola Tinubu, and we have confidence in his capability, his experience, and his commitment to Nigeria,” the emerging group said. “We are not here to rewrite history, but to use our experience to serve Nigeria better.”
The group said its immediate objective was to secure Tinubu’s re-election and contribute to what it described as a successful second term.
