RAYMOND OZOJI reports
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) House of Assembly Caucus has tasked the federal government, the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies to guarantee the safety and security of the NDC presidential candidate Mr. Peter Obi, following threats to his life ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The NDC House of Assembly Caucus in a press statement signed by the leader and lawmaker representing Onitsha-South 2 state constituency in the 8th legislature of Anambra State, Hon. Barr. Jude Ifeanyi Umennajiego, maintained that they would no longer be silent while the powers that be attempt to push Peter Obi out of the ballot through fear, threats to life and intimidations rather than through the ballot box.
The statement reads, " We, the House of Assembly Caucus of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), condemn in the strongest terms the grave threat to the life and person of our Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi. His recent disclosures on the _#WithChude_ podcast laid bare a pattern of deliberate frustration by forces determined to keep him off the 2027 ballot.
That a two-time presidential contender, a man who has earned the trust of millions across every region of this country, must now publicly contemplate the possibility that he "may not be alive" to contest an election is not a private grievance, but a national calamity. It is a national emergency, and the Caucus will not treat it with the silence on which impunity depends.
Nigeria's democracy was not built so that ambition could be settled by elimination instead of election. When a candidate must weigh his personal safety against his constitutional right to seek office, the fault lies not with the candidate, but with a system that has allowed intimidation to substitute for competition. We will not be silent while the powers that be attempt to push Peter Obi out of the ballot through fear, threats to life, and intimidation, rather than through the ballot box.
The Caucus wishes to state, in the clearest terms, that any resort to violence, sabotage, or covert coercion against Mr. Obi or any other political actor is a direct assault on the Nigerian Constitution and an affront to the millions of citizens whose hope for a redirected nation rests on free and fair contest. Genuine democracy thrives on the strength of ideas and the will of the electorate, not on the elimination of inconvenient opponents.
We call on the Federal Government, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Department of State Services to guarantee Mr. Obi's security without delay, and to treat every credible threat against him with the seriousness it deserves.
We further call on well-meaning Nigerians, civil society, and the international community to watch closely as the road to 2027 unfolds. A nation's democratic credibility is measured not by the eloquence of its constitution, but by its willingness to protect the lives of those who dare to contest power peacefully. The Caucus stands resolutely behind Mr. Obi and reaffirms its commitment to a Nigeria where political succession is decided at the polls, not in the shadows.
We, the NDC House of Assembly Caucus, urge all Nigerians to remain calm, vigilant, and resolute in defence of democratic values, while placing on record our firm resolve to hold accountable any individual or institution found complicit in threats against the life of Mr. Peter Obi or any other legitimate candidate for public office."
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