From Ifeoma Ejiofor
The Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Law Mefor, PhD, has declared that the presidential ambition of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Mr Peter Obi, is not an Igbo project.
Mefor said questions about why Mr Peter Obi’s presidential ambition is not considered an Igbo project by persons holding positions in APGA and the Anambra State Government are often laced with emotion and subtle blackmail.
“It is quite baffling that such a query should arise at all in a multiparty democracy, which Nigeria has always been. Democracy does not confer automatic ethnic allegiance. It confers freedom of choice, freedom of association, and freedom of political interest.
“The simple answer is this: Mr Peter Obi’s presidential ambition is not an Igbo project because Mr Peter Obi himself has never presented it as one and does not want it to be seen as one,” he said.
The commissioner insisted that Mr Obi had systematically avoided seeking support from Igbo organisations that articulate, represent and project Igbo or South-East interests in Nigeria because of his firm belief that his aspiration is not an Igbo project.
Mefor said that, as a matter of fact, Mr Obi was running on his own terms, noting that he had never sought either the views or endorsement of Igbo leaders at any level.
He declared emphatically that political groups in Igboland owed no automatic allegiance to Obi, as he had neither sought such allegiance nor wanted to be perceived as representing Igbo interests.
The commissioner clarified that the very existence of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) could be jeopardised if Peter Obi’s NDC took over Anambra State.
Mefor said APGA would field candidates for the 2027 elections, from the State House of Assembly and House of Representatives to the Senate and the presidency.
“We have a living example next door. Imo State was once governed by APGA through Rochas Okorocha. Today, APC has taken over the entire political space since Rochas dumped APGA to join the legacy party blocs that formed the All Progressives Congress.
“The record is clear. Since Peter Obi left APGA for PDP in 2014, he has tried consistently to take over Anambra through his new political parties. He backed PDP’s Oseloka Obaze against APGA in 2017. He backed Valentine Ozigbo of the Labour Party in 2021. He backed George Moghalu of the Labour Party in the 2025 governorship election. He even backed a candidate against APGA in the Onitsha North 1 State Assembly by-election in 2024, in which Hon. Mimi Azikiwe of APGA still emerged victorious despite Obi’s rigorous campaign,” Mefor insisted.