Speaking in an interview with The Sun published on Sunday, Obi said both leaders are driven by a common vision of transforming Nigeria by investing in human capital and expanding access to education.
According to him, Kwankwaso’s philosophy closely mirrors his own plans for national development.
“Kwankwaso has the philosophy of pulling people out of poverty.
“I have the same philosophy. Kwankwaso believes in education. You cannot change society without education.
“If you look at my X, formerly Twitter, I made it clear that I will emphasise education. Education is going to change society.
“Nigeria must be seen to form its innermost human capital, which we need to develop. Kwankwaso believes in this. I do. We have synergy,” Obi said.
The former Anambra State governor also rejected speculation that there were cracks in his relationship with Kwankwaso, maintaining that both leaders remain united ahead of the January 2027 general election.
“I don’t know why people talk about differences between people who are working together. Have you ever seen us quarrelling?
“You see, people quarrel even in offices because of transactional governance. The country is in a mess because of transactional governance. I am not into transactional government. I am into transformational governance.
“We want to change the society and make it better. We want to pull people out of poverty, not the other way around,” he said.
Obi and Kwankwaso finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 2023 presidential election, behind President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress and then-Peoples Democratic Party candidate Atiku Abubakar.
Obi contested the election on the Labour Party platform, while Kwankwaso flew the flag of the New Nigeria Peoples Party.
The two politicians later joined forces with Atiku in a political alliance under the African Democratic Congress in 2026 before Obi and Kwankwaso eventually defected to the Nigeria Democratic Congress, citing internal disputes and legal challenges within the ADC.
Reflecting on why a similar alliance did not come together before the 2023 election, Obi said his attention is focused on the future rather than revisiting missed opportunities.
“Those who think about yesterday and today will miss tomorrow. The past is gone. We are talking about the present,” he said.
Addressing concerns over integrating supporters of the Obidient Movement and the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Obi expressed confidence that both camps share the same aspiration for a better Nigeria.
“We do not just have large followers alone. People are gravitating to what is right. How are we going to manage them? We have no problem whatsoever. We want to change the society. Our followers want a changed and better society,” he added.