Trending 
Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has called for a fundamental shift in Nigeria’s democracy, insisting that citizens must take control of the political process and that opposition parties should not be treated as criminals.
Speaking at the Nigeria Democratic Congress special convention, where he was adopted as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Obi said Nigeria’s democracy must change.
“The democracy we profess today must change. It must be a government of the people, by the people and for the people. The people must be the ones determining what is happening,” Obi said.
The former governor criticised the treatment of opposition parties in Nigeria, revealing the struggles the NDC faced in securing a venue for its convention.
“Opposition parties are being treated like criminals, harassed and everything. You will not believe it,” Obi said.
“Everywhere we went, where we did our last convention, we were denied. That’s why we came here.”
“Our government will work with the opposition. We will encourage them.”
Presidential candidate of the NDC, Peter Obi, says his government will be accountable to citizens and ensure a people-centred democracy that supports opposition parties.
Full 📹: https://t.co/wjnf99gCdT pic.twitter.com/L6GmFPFOGl
— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) May 30, 2026
He noted that other parties faced even worse obstacles. “You can see what happened to other parties. Two of them were shot down by police. Nobody wants to come.”
Obi said his party was advised not to advertise the convention until the morning of the event. “It was this morning that we authorised that we are coming here.”
Obi also recounted his legal battles as a governor, presenting his experience as proof that the rule of law can prevail in Nigeria.
“I was the first governor to be in court for three years. Without knowing any of the judges, five of them gave judgment in favor of me. Without knowing anybody in appeal, they gave judgment in my favor,” he said.
After being impeached, he returned to court. “The lower court and the appeal court returned me without knowing anybody.”
When he sought interpretation of the law regarding his tenure, he went to the Supreme Court. “I did not know anybody. But within 30 minutes, Supreme Court sacked somebody who was already sworn in as the governor and asked me to continue.”
Obi pledged that if elected, his government would support opposition parties.
“Our government will work with opposition. We will encourage them. We will make sure they exist. Because that’s what it should be,” he said.
Obi, who was the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, has now emerged as the NDC’s flagbearer for the January 2027 presidential election, with former Kano State Governor Musa Kwankwaso as his running mate.
