By The race for Nigeria’s top seat in 2023 has gotten more interesting after a former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi emerged as the presidential flagbearer of the Labour Party.
Obi, who recently joined the party after dumping the Peoples Democratic Party, was elected unopposed at its presidential primaries which took place on Monday at Orchid Hotel in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
It was gathered that his emergence came moments after his main challenger for the Labour Party ticket, a professor of political economy, Pat Utomi stepped down from the race and declared support for Obi.
Utomi, co-convener the National Consultative Front (NCFront), said he was stepping down for a younger aspirant with the capacity to effect the needed change in the Nigerian system.
Another aspirant, 45-year old Joseph Faduri had earlier withdrew his ambition for the former governor.
Last Friday, Obi, a frontline presidential hopeful under the PDP, announced his resignation from the main opposition party and subsequent defection to the Labour Party.
“I have chosen a route that I consider to be in line with our aspirations and my mantra of taking the country from consumption to production; and that is the Labour Party which is synonymous with the people, workers, development, production, securing and uniting Nigerians as one family,” he had said in a statement.
The 60-year-old politician had also recently warned his supporters against insulting or abusing other presidential aspirants or candidates.
