The Labour Party has stated that there is no automatic ticket for any intending presidential candidate, responding to Peter Obi’s remarks about potentially running again on the party’s platform in 2027.
The Labour Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, disclosed this in a statement, saying the party’s leadership has been drawn to news trending in the media that the party is “celebrating” Obi’s declaration to run on the platform of the party in 2027.
Ifoh stated that he was quoted out of context, and the impression conveyed by the news was erroneous, inaccurate, and does not reflect the position and mood in the party.
The statement reads: “The attention of the leadership of the Labour Party has been drawn to the news trending in the media that the party is “celebrating” that its candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi has declared his intention to run on the platform of the party in 2027.
“I want to state emphatically that I was quoted out of context and therefore, the impression conveyed by the news was erroneous, inaccurate and does not in any way reflect the position and mood in the party.
“First, while we are not opposed to anybody running under the platform of the Labour Party in the 2027 general election, we need to make it categorically clear that the party has a long standing rule on how its candidates shall emerge and automatic ticket is not one of the routes.
“Recall that the party had erroneously granted automatic tickets to its former Presidential candidate and the only governor of the party at its National Convention in 2024, but that decision has since been rescinded and reversed after consulting the statute books.”