The Lagos State chapter of the Labour Party has accused its former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, of destabilising the party through what it described as his “serial inconsistency” and “political pretence,” warning that his recent actions could finally wreck both his political career and the party’s relevance ahead of the 2027 elections.

In a strongly worded statement titled “Reflections on the Labour Party’s Challenges: A Call for Peter Obi to Pause and Ponder,” the Lagos LP chairperson, Dayo Ekong, said Mr Obi’s political inconsistency has alienated key allies and exposed the limits of his influence, especially following a string of election losses where his endorsements failed to deliver victory.

“Peter Obi’s influence in the Nigerian polity appears to be waning, as Nigerians grow increasingly tired and wary of what some perceive as inconsistent antics and political manoeuvring,” Mrs Ekong said. “His interventions, once seen as principled, now risk being viewed as disruptive and self-serving, alienating allies and diminishing his appeal.”

She cited the party’s losses in the 2023 Imo governorship poll and the 2024 Edo governorship election, despite Mr Obi’s heavy involvement, as evidence that the former Anambra governor’s political touch has faded.

She said in Edo, Labour Party’s candidate, Olumide Akpata, “lost woefully to the APC’s Monday Okpebholo, securing only a fraction of the votes despite Mr Obi’s rallies and endorsements in Benin and beyond,” adding that a similar fate befell Senator Athan Achonu in Imo State, where, despite Mr Obi’s active campaign, incumbent Governor Hope Uzodimma of the APC coasted to a landslide victory.

The Lagos chair said the defeats showed that Mr Obi’s support “no longer guarantees electoral success.”

The most damning case, she argued, was Mr Obi’s dramatic switch in this year’s Anambra by-elections, where he dumped the Labour Party candidate to endorse Justina Azuka of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). “Just before the polls, Obi abandoned the Labour Party candidate and endorsed Justina Azuka of ADC, even donning an ADC-branded cap during campaigns for the Onitsha North 1 State Constituency seat,” Mrs Ekong recalled.

ADC eventually polled just 1,909 votes, while APGA—the party Mr Obi once belonged to before defecting to PDP and later Labour Party—won with 7,774 votes. The result, Mrs Ekong said, mocked Mr Obi’s diminishing clout, even in his home state.

Mr Obi’s latest manoeuvres mirror his longstanding pattern of party-hopping and political cross-carpeting. Once a self-proclaimed loyalist of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Mr Obi vowed never to abandon the platform but later defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and subsequently to the Labour Party in 2022. Now, his open flirtation with ADC has reinforced claims of his political instability.

Mrs Ekong warned that such “LP today, ADC tomorrow” behaviour was confusing supporters and eroding the party’s credibility.

Mrs Ekong urged Mr Obi to retreat and reassess his path before further damaging the party and his career. “A wise politician like Peter Obi, known for his prudence and vision, has suddenly lost so much appeal—even in his backyard,” she warned. “He should honestly ask himself: does he still enjoy the grace and public trust that fuelled his 2023 surge?”

She likened Mr Obi’s trajectory to that of Nyesom Wike, who was widely chastised for his PDP-to-APC intrigues, insisting that Nigerians are equally noting Mr Obi’s “LP/ADC antics” and may punish him at the ballot in 2027.

The Lagos LP chair concluded that the party “remains committed to equity, justice, and progress for all Nigerians,” but stressed that only leaders who place collective interests above personal ambition can rescue the party from collapse.