Labour Party National Vice President, South-West, Bayomi Arabambi, has described former Anambra State Governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as a “chief content creator,” while declaring that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is the only opposition politician he considers capable of mounting a serious challenge against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Arabambi made the remarks during an appearance on TVC’s Politics Tonight on Thursday, amid growing political activities and realignments ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The Labour Party chieftain criticised Obi over his frequent use of statistical figures when commenting on national issues, alleging that some of the figures presented by the former governor were later found to be inaccurate.
“He’s a man, who comes with all manner of statistics that you now find out to be false,” Arabambi said.
Arabambi also questioned Obi’s political activities, arguing that the former governor had focused more on commenting on national issues than positioning himself for another presidential contest.
“When you look at Peter Obi, you know that one for every reason known to Nigerians, is just the chief content creator,” he said.
The Labour Party chieftain went further to claim that Obi would not contest the presidential election, alleging that the former governor had reasons for his current political activities and that the leadership of the opposition movement was aware of his alleged decision.
“He’s not contesting, even their leader know Obi is not contesting. All of you are going to replay what I said today. He’s not contesting. He knew why he went out there,” Arabambi said.
Turning to the wider opposition landscape, Arabambi singled out Atiku Abubakar as the only opposition figure he believes is currently capable of mounting a serious challenge against Tinubu.
“We have a sitting president that is one, and we have only one contender against the president. The only contender we have that I know is serious to slug it out with the incumbent is Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,” he said.
Atiku and Obi were both major contenders in the 2023 presidential election, with Atiku contesting on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Obi representing the Labour Party. Tinubu won the election and subsequently assumed office as President.
Arabambi also weighed in on the ongoing debate over zoning and the rotation of the presidency, arguing that the office should remain in the South until the region completes what he considers an eight-year tenure.
According to him, the presidency should only return to another region after the South has completed two terms.
“But for now, the presidency has been zoned to the south,” he said.
He recalled the political situation preceding the 2023 election, when Atiku contested after former President Muhammadu Buhari completed eight years in office.
Arabambi said Nigerians subsequently chose Tinubu, arguing that the South should be allowed to complete its own eight-year tenure before power is transferred to another region.
“In 2023, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar came out to say he wanted to run after the eight years of former President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigerians, in their own opinion, said, ‘let’s give it to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As far as I’m concerned, the South needs to complete our eight years,’” he said.
His comments come as opposition politicians and political parties intensify consultations, negotiations and possible alliances ahead of the next presidential election.
The question of whether Atiku, Obi or other opposition figures will eventually emerge as presidential contenders, as well as whether the opposition will unite behind a common candidate, remains a major issue in the political calculations surrounding the election.
Arabambi’s assessment places Atiku at the centre of the opposition challenge to Tinubu, while his remarks about Obi add another layer to the ongoing debate over the former governor’s political plans and his continued engagement with national affairs.