Obidient movement bigger than Labour Party, says Yunusa Tanko

• On Wednesday, Obi criticised the decision of the party to appoint directors to coordinate the registration of all members of the ‘Obedient’ community and “integrate them fully into the structure of the party
• He said the movement is not a directorate of any political party.

The chief spokesman of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Organisation, Yunusa Tanko, has said the Obidient Movement is bigger than the Labour Party and its 2023 presidential flagbearer, Peter Obi.

Speaking on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s programme The Morning Brief, Tanko said the Obidient movement should not be associated with any party because it has a life of its own.

Tanko stated that Obidients, who are supporters of Obi, are only interested in good governance and can challenge both the party and Obi if they go against their values.

He said: “It’s bigger than the Labour Party. It is so because it is a move of its own that has a life of its own. What they are interested in is good governance.

“Even if the Labour Party is doing something wrong, they can challenge it. Let me go further. Even His Excellency [Peter Obi], if he does something that is not aligned with good governance, we would challenge it.

“They are loyal to the messages that connect to good governance and Peter Obi is championing that particular good governance.”

Recall that the LP recently named a party directorate the Directorate of Obidient Affairs, which was received with widespread backlash.

Also, in a statement posted on his X page on Wednesday, Obi rejected the directorate’s naming, saying that the Obidient movement is beyond the party and cuts across party, gender, and ethnic divides.

He wrote: “There may be a youth mobilization directorate in political parties, but the Obidient Movement is far beyond a particular political party. The Obidient Movement is a diverse and inclusive collective that transcends traditional political, religious, and ethnic affiliations.

“It is not domiciled within any particular party or headquartered in any particular part of the country.”

After the backlash, in a statement on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Obiorah Ifoh, renamed the Obidient Directorate as the Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration.

The statement reads: “Following the controversies arising from the creation of the Directorate of OBIDIENT Affairs, in the party, the Directorate is hereby renamed the Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration.

“The inauguration will take place on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at the party’s National Secretariat, Utako, Abuja, by 10 a.m. Party members and the general public should take note.”