Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has announced his exit from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), citing worsening internal crises within the party and broader national political challenges.
In a statement posted on Sunday via X, Obi said the decision came after deep personal reflection and what he described as “silent pains” experienced while navigating Nigeria’s political space.
He described the country’s political environment as increasingly hostile, alleging that it is marked by intimidation, insecurity, suspicion and discouragement.
“We now live in an environment that has become increasingly toxic, where the system that should protect and create opportunities often works against the people,” he said.
Obi also lamented what he called unfair criticism and internal pressure from political circles he previously joined in search of reform-oriented collaboration.
“Some who publicly identify with you privately distance themselves or join in unfair criticism,” he stated, adding that humility is often misinterpreted as weakness in Nigerian politics.
He clarified that his exit from the ADC was not due to any personal dispute with party leaders, including former Senate President David Mark and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
According to him, the decision was influenced by what he described as recurring internal disputes and unresolved political conflicts distracting the party from national issues.
“Let me state clearly: my decision to leave the ADC is not because our highly respected Chairman, Senator David Mark, treated me badly, nor because my leader and elder brother, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other respected leaders did anything personally wrong to me. I will continue to respect them,” he said.
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“However, the same Nigerian state and its agents that created unnecessary crises and hostility within the Labour Party that forced me to leave now appear to be finding their way into the ADC, with endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and division, instead of focusing on deeper national problems and playing politics built more on control and exclusion than on service and nation-building,” he added.
Obi stressed that he has no desperation for political office, saying his focus is on improving the lives of Nigerians.
“I am not desperate to be President, Vice President or Senate President. I am desperate to see a Nigeria where people can live in dignity, without hunger, fear, or displacement,” he said.
Despite leaving the party, he reaffirmed his belief in national transformation.
“A new Nigeria is possible,” he declared.