The National Vice Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Ceekay Igara, has dismissed claims that the party’s 2023 electoral performance was built solely on the influence of its former presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV, Igara stated that the party has a strong institutional foundation.
He argued that recent defections to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) would not weaken the party’s chances in the 2027 elections.
“Peter Obi made tremendous contributions to the popularity of the Labour Party, but it was based on the solid foundation already laid by the party. Out of 19 political parties, people assessed the options and chose the Labour Party because they saw the structure we had,” he said.
Igara revealed that Obi’s emergence as the party’s candidate followed intense internal negotiations, noting that several aspirants initially opposed his candidacy.
“It was fought very hard to make him the candidate. He was not very popular within the party at the time because he had just joined. It took the intervention of the national leadership to persuade other aspirants to step down,” he explained.
He further attributed the surge in youth support during the 2023 elections to wider civic engagement, particularly the EndSARS movement.
“The movement that supported us was already there. EndSARS aligned with the Labour Party because of the groundwork we had done. That was why it became a movement,” he said.
On Obi’s reported alignment with another political platform, Igara said the true test would be whether the same level of support could be replicated outside the Labour Party.
“Now that he has moved on, let us see if what was achieved in 2023 can be replicated on another platform. That is when the difference will be clear,” he added.
He maintained that the party remains focused on consolidating its base ahead of the next election cycle.
“We are working to strengthen the party to perform better than in 2023. Beyond the ‘Obedient’ enthusiasm, the real measure is electoral victory, how many governors did we win?” he queried.