The Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed recent claims by Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, that the ruling party is attempting to “capture” the South-East through ongoing defections of key political figures in the region.
Reacting to Obi’s statement, the Lagos APC described his comment as “short on logic,” accusing him of hypocrisy and political inconsistency.
In a statement issued on Thursday by its spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, the party said it was laughable lecturing others about political loyalty.
“This is the man who moved from APGA to PDP, then to the Labour Party, and who, according to credible whispers within his shrinking camp, is already in the political marketplace shopping for yet another platform to inherit before 2027.
“Suddenly, the serial defector is suffering selective amnesia when discussing others’ political moves. He conveniently forgets that his entire career has been built on defection, opportunism, and expediency. If there were a trophy for political cross-carpeting, Obi would be its unchallenged winner,” the statement read.
Oladejo stressed that the APC was not “capturing” the South-East, but that the region was voluntarily aligning with the party’s national vision.
According to the Lagos APC, the growing acceptance of the ruling party in the South-East reflects a new political reality where Nigerians are choosing unity and progress over sentiment.
“The APC is not “capturing” the South-East – the region is voluntarily aligning with the national mainstream because Nigerians are done with emotional blackmail, divisive rhetoric, and politics of victimhood. The people of the South-East deserve inclusion, infrastructure, and investment – not empty crusades and sentimental activism,” the statement added.
“Power is not served à la carte. It is earned through structure, consistency, and the ability to build bridges across the federation – all of which he sorely lacks. His politics of isolation and sanctimony may have once excited social media, but Nigeria of today demands substance, not sympathy.”
Earlier, Obi had told reporters in Abuja that Nigeria was in a democracy, not under military rule, and that no one can capture any state through defections.
Responding to questions on the defection of Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, to the APC and reports of the ruling party’s moves to consolidate support in the South-East, Obi said, “We are not in a military time when you capture people. You are a leader. You tend to do the right things for them to follow you. So I don’t think anybody is capturing anywhere.”
He added that the people, not politicians, would ultimately decide which party to support.
