Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has expressed concern over the recent Federal High Court ruling in Lokoja affecting the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), describing the decision as a serious setback for Nigeria’s democracy and warning against actions capable of weakening the country’s democratic institutions.
Obi made his position known in a statement shared on his official X account on Friday after learning of the court’s decision while attending official engagements in Imo State.
The former Anambra State governor disclosed that he began the day in Emekuku, where he inspected projects he had previously funded at the School of Nursing Sciences, including a computer laboratory, before attending the 80th birthday celebration of the Emeritus Archbishop of Owerri, Most Rev. Dr. Anthony Obinna, and later proceeding to Madonna University.
According to him, it was while he was at Madonna University that Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso informed him of the Lokoja court ruling.
“It was at Madonna University that I received the court news of the Lokoja court rulings through my brother, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso,” Obi said.
Reacting to the development, the Labour Party stalwart said the judgment should concern every Nigerian committed to democratic governance and national progress.
“Every Nigerian committed to the country’s progress should be deeply concerned. This judgment represents another setback for our democracy and the institutions upon which our future depends.”
Obi lamented what he described as a growing trend of weakening institutions that are critical to sustaining Nigeria’s democracy, warning that such actions could erode public confidence in governance.
“It is regrettable that some who claim to champion democracy now appear determined to weaken the very institutions that sustain it. In doing so, they are undermining public confidence and endangering the future of millions of Nigerians.”
He further expressed concern over what he called the declining independence of key democratic institutions.
“The legislature and the judiciary are increasingly being drawn into this pattern of institutional decline. Democracy cannot thrive where institutions lose their independence and credibility.”
The former presidential candidate maintained that attempts to undermine Nigeria’s democratic foundations would ultimately fail, recalling that he had previously condemned similar developments involving another opposition platform.
“Those who seek to weaken Nigeria’s democratic foundations will not ultimately prevail. When a similar situation recently affected the ADC, I condemned it without hesitation. I do so again today because my position has always been guided by principle.”
Obi stressed that his intervention was not driven by political ambition but by his desire to see Nigeria function on the basis of justice, the rule of law and strong institutions.
“My concern is not about who becomes President. My concern is that Nigeria works. Our politics must move beyond the quest for power and focus instead on building a united nation founded on justice, strong institutions, the rule of law, and equal opportunity. That is the Nigeria we owe ourselves and the one we must leave for future generations.”
He called on Nigerians across political divides to defend the country’s democratic institutions, insisting that the nation’s future depends on preserving their independence and credibility.
“I therefore urge all well-meaning Nigerians to rise above partisan interests and defend our democracy. The survival of our institutions is inseparable from the survival of our nation. It’s when we work together that a New Nigeria of our dream is made POssible,” Obi stated.
