•Peter Obi and Tinubu
Former members of Peter Obi’s 2023 Presidential Campaign Council have formed a political group, Batified Obidients, to campaign for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The group, which announced its formation on Wednesday, said its members had moved from supporting Obi to backing Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress after reassessing their experience during the 2023 presidential campaign, reports The PUNCH.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Adesina Fagbenro-Byron, the group said it would mobilise former Obi supporters, undecided voters and other Nigerians in support of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda.
The group said its decision was based on what it described as differences in leadership capacity, governance experience and political organisation between Tinubu and Obi.
It also criticised the Labour Party, saying it was “not structurally or ideologically prepared” to govern Nigeria.
The former Obi campaign members said their assessment was informed by their experience within the 2023 campaign, alleging weaknesses in talent management, diversity management and internal conflict resolution.
They claimed that some professionals who contributed to Obi’s campaign were not adequately recognised or deployed, which they said raised questions about the ability to sustain an effective political organisation beyond an election.
“We say this without personal animosity. Our concern is governance, competence, and national capacity,” the group said.
It added that Nigeria required a leader capable of managing its diversity, building coalitions, retaining competent professionals and handling crises while pursuing reforms.
The group said its assessment placed Tinubu ahead of Obi in areas including executive experience, coalition-building, legislative capacity, crisis management, reform orientation and national spread.
It, however, stressed that its decision should not be interpreted as a claim to represent 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 added that it would focus particularly on former Obi supporters as it sought to build support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election.
It said it would defend and explain the administration’s reforms and work to persuade voters that the policies would produce better outcomes when fully implemented.
Batified Obidients also set itself a numerical target, saying it would seek to help increase Tinubu’s 2023 vote total of more than eight million.
It said it would particularly target states where Obi performed strongly in the 2023 presidential election.
The group says it has established a nationwide structure comprising a national coordinator and secretariat, regional coordinators across the six geopolitical zones and state representatives in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The six regional coordinators named by the group are 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.
The emergence of the group adds to recent efforts by former Obi supporters and campaign officials to align with Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election. Other former Obi campaign figures have also publicly announced 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 political objective was to secure Tinubu’s re-election and work towards what it described as a successful second term.
