Obi’s loyalty ends where presidential ticket fails — Ex-Borno gov

Former Borno State governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, has launched a fresh attack on Peter Obi, claiming the former Anambra governor cannot remain in any political party that refuses to hand him its presidential ticket.

Sheriff made the allegation on Monday while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he accused Obi of pursuing a personal political agenda ahead of the 2027 election.

According to the former governor, Obi is not the kind of politician who can stay loyal to one party if his ambition is not protected.

“The point is that he, Peter Obi, is a candidate and the last time you invited me here I told you that people like Peter Obi can never be in one political party because he is pursuing an agenda,” Sheriff said.

He claimed that Obi would leave any platform that failed to make him its presidential candidate.

“If he can’t be a presidential candidate, he would move out. Today, he has gone to like 20 political parties to become a candidate,” he added.

Sheriff also used the interview to speak on national unity, warning that politicians must not reduce their ambition to narrow ethnic or regional interests.

He said Nigeria’s leaders had fought to keep the country together, insisting that anyone who places loyalty to a state above loyalty to the country is not fit to speak for Nigeria.

“If I, Ali Modu Sheriff, will come out here and say that I only believe in Borno State and not Nigeria, then I’m not fit to be Nigerian because our leaders have fought to keep us together,” Sheriff said.

His remarks come as political alignments continue to shift ahead of the 2027 general election, with Obi still regarded as one of the major opposition figures whose next move could shape the race.

Obi, who contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party, has continued to attract strong support and heavy criticism in equal measure, especially as parties and coalitions begin fresh calculations for 2027.