*Calls For Coalition Of Competencies, And Says He Would “Declare War” On Insecurity
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Former Anambra State Governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has confirmed that the African Democratic Congress will hold its national convention on Tuesday, April 14, in Abuja despite INEC’s withdrawal of recognition and the denial of access to all venues the party applied for describing the venue denials as evidence of the deterioration of Nigeria’s democracy and accusing the government of deliberately trying to prevent the opposition from existing.
In his first mainstream television interview of 2026, delivered exclusively on Arise Television’s Prime programme, Obi addressed the full spectrum of issues confronting the ADC and the opposition, made sweeping promises about what he would do if elected president including declaring war on insecurity, transforming Northern Nigeria through massive agricultural investment, and ending the culture of transactional politics and defended his record of moving across political parties, insisting he would do it “20 times” if necessary rather than be part of a compromised process.
Asked whether the ADC convention would proceed amid INEC’s derecognition, swirling controversies over state congresses, and the absence of a secured venue, Obi was emphatic.
“Definitely, it will hold tomorrow. It’s going to happen in Abuja,” Obi stated.
He confirmed that the party had been denied access to all the venues it applied for, including Eagle Square and the National Stadium in Abuja the two largest event venues in the federal capital.
“That shows you the integrity of our democracy. If you’re denied simple things like a venue and everything, it shows where the country is drifting to, where a party when we have freedom of association, everything enshrined in our constitution and yet a party that is supposed to be the main opposition party cannot be allowed to exist,” Obi stated.
Asked why the venues were denied, Obi was direct: “Obviously, it’s the government. The government doesn’t want other parties to exist. They’re not playing by the rules.”
Obi described INEC’s withdrawal of recognition from the Mark-led ADC leadership as “totally wrong” and accused the government of orchestrating the decision.
“Somebody’s pushing them to do that,” Obi stated when asked whether INEC had overstepped its constitutional role.
He drew a contrast with the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s handling of party disputes, recalling how Yar’Adua called the then PDP chairman to say he did not want any problems in any political party and wanted all parties to be stable and functional.
“A government that wants progress supports strong opposition because it’s critical. Look at what has happened to our democracy it is now being destroyed. And it’s being destroyed by those who yesterday were victims of the same similar thing and were shouting and threatening to bring down everything if the right things are not done. And then when they have the opportunity that’s what surprises me in Nigeria how people can show commitment to a cause and when they are given opportunity, they fail dramatically,” Obi stated.
He dismissed INEC’s claim that it was obeying a court order as wrong, saying: “They were recognised yesterday. So what’s so sudden now that brought about their reversal?”
Responding to the argument that the ADC’s internal problems suggest it cannot govern Nigeria, Obi rejected the premise.
“The problems within ADC or other political parties are problems instigated, supervised, and controlled from external forces which is government deliberately to destroy them, investing heavily in it,” Obi stated.
He dismissed the notion that a party’s inability to control internal disputes reflects on its capacity to govern.
“When those problems are externally instigated, supervised, and controlled, especially in a transitional country like Nigeria where you know that everybody can be bought over — no. We must dismantle this criminality that exists today,” Obi declared.
In what may be his most significant policy declaration, Obi pledged to prioritise Northern Nigeria if elected president, describing the region’s vast uncultivated land as the country’s greatest asset.
“Nobody will build or do what I intend to do in the North. I’ll change the North. Our greatest asset as a country is in the North,” Obi stated.
“The vast uncultivated land is our future. We can make more money as a country from agriculture than we make from oil. And that we have to start doing immediately,” he added.
He argued that securing the North requires investment in agriculture, education, and health to pull people out of poverty addressing the root causes of insecurity rather than relying solely on military operations.
“If we want to secure the North today, we need to start investing in those critical areas. Agriculture, start pulling people out of poverty, investing in education, investing in health and that we can do,” Obi stated.
He said he has studied multiple countries’ development models and can see the potential for transformation in Northern Nigeria. “I could see that future. I could feel it,” he stated.
On the issue of insecurity, Obi made his most forceful statement yet.
“No nation would lose about 10 of its senior officers and not declare war. I would declare war,” Obi declared, referencing the growing list of brigadier generals and senior military officers killed in the Northeast insurgency.
He said the current approach of negotiation and half-measures is no longer acceptable. “We’ve reached a stage where we have to be very, very decisive. It is no longer an issue of negotiation,” Obi stated.
He cited his record as Anambra governor, recalling that when insecurity peaked during his tenure, he went to the president and said: “This is what I want to do and you must allow me to do it.” He cited the testimony of the then Inspector-General of Police, Abubakar, who said Anambra went five years without a major robbery or kidnapping.
“I’m not saying it will all go away. No. But you can decisively deal with it,” Obi stated.
Obi called for a fundamental change in how Nigeria selects its leaders, arguing that the 2027 election must be based on competence rather than the transactional politics of the past.
“Where we are now in Nigeria, it’s time to hire a qualified, competent person. Our recruitment process for 2027 must be different from what it used to be. We must now get somebody who is committed to a future and a better Nigeria,” Obi stated.
He described the coalition needed for 2027 as one of “competencies, capacities, and people who are compassionate to tackle issues that Nigeria needs urgent attention today” — distinguishing it from previous coalitions formed simply to share power.
“We are no longer going to be a coalition of people who are going to share democracy dividends or a transactional coalition because there’s nothing to share any longer. Whatever we are sharing now, the country is finished,” Obi stated.
He cited Indonesia’s Joko Widodo as an example of a leader chosen not by a single party but by a coalition that identified the best candidate for the country.
Responding to criticism that his movement from APGA to PDP to Labour Party to ADC reflects political inconsistency, Obi was unapologetic.
“If I have to move well, I don’t have a long time in politics but if I have a long time, I have to do it 20 times, I will do it. I will not be part of I cannot be talking about change, I cannot be talking about something new while being part of the same thing. You cannot use the process of yesterday to build tomorrow,” Obi stated.
He insisted he has never been involved in rigging elections, paying for judicial outcomes, or engaging in transactional primaries. “I’ve never been involved in any form of rigging of election at primary level, at the election itself, and after that. I’ve never been part of paying people in the judiciary anywhere to give me judgment I do not deserve,” Obi stated.
Obi launched a direct attack on the Tinubu administration’s economic management, questioning what happened to the savings from subsidy removal and the massive borrowing undertaken since 2015.
“When Buhari came in, our borrowing was about 13 trillion. When he left, it was 87 trillion. Today, we’re hitting 200 trillion without anything to show for it. Subsidies removed — both in petroleum and power and yet we’ve borrowed more. Where is the money going?” Obi asked.
He noted that the entire 2025 capital budget remains unfunded, with contractors being owed. “So we’re owing contractors. We borrowed more money. Where is the money going? The people need to know,” he stated.
On power, Obi challenged the government directly: “If I don’t give you power, don’t vote for me.” He noted that from 2015 to date, no new power plant has been commissioned or is in the process of being commissioned by the APC government — while Indonesia added 70,000 megawatts, India added 171,000 megawatts, and Egypt added 28,000 megawatts within the same period.
Obi described the detention of former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai as political persecution, regardless of El-Rufai’s alignment with the ADC.
“No matter what even if what is happening to him today happens to somebody that is not in ADC, I’ll say the same thing. We have to build there should be civility and order,” Obi stated.
He argued that if there are allegations of mismanagement, the proper course is investigation, evidence gathering, and prosecution through the courts not the “drama” of arrests and prolonged detention.
“A person can be investigated. If you think there’s mismanagement of money belonging to Kaduna State and you’ve done your investigation and follow the trail and see where the money went, you go to court, prove your case and have the money refunded. You do not have to start running up and down creating issues,” Obi stated.
On the question of national unity and the ethnic divisions that plague Nigerian politics, Obi argued that tribalism and religion are used as substitutes for competence by leaders who lack the capacity to compete on merit.
“Do not vote for me because I’m from the Southeast. Do not vote for me because I’m a Christian. Vote for me because I’m committed to turning around Nigeria,” Obi stated.
He pledged to start his transformation agenda from the North, arguing that restoring productivity and opportunity in the region would create a foundation for national progress.
“I’ll start from the North. Because I know where the problem is. After bringing back all the productivity that was in the North, we move to the South. We cover everywhere. We need to do it,” Obi stated.
He concluded with a vision of a meritocratic Nigeria: “Build a society where people’s hard work and talent will match up the opportunity. Where a child of nobody can be somebody without knowing anybody.”
Obi’s confirmation that the ADC convention will proceed on Tuesday despite the absence of a venue, INEC’s derecognition, the Supreme Court hearing scheduled for the same day, and the Federal High Court’s separate hearing also on the same day sets the stage for what could be the most consequential and contentious day in the party’s history.
Whether the convention actually holds, whether it produces outcomes that can withstand legal challenge, and whether INEC ultimately recognises its results remain open questions that Tuesday will begin to answer.
For Obi, the convention represents not just an ADC event but a test of whether opposition politics can survive in Nigeria against what he describes as a government determined to make it impossible.
“It’s not about me. It’s not about anybody. It’s about the integrity of our democratic process. It’s about building a better society for us and our children,” Obi stated.
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