Labour Party Can’t Contest 2027, Must Support Tinubu, Ahanotu Insists

A national officer of Nigeria’s Labour Party has said the party is in no position to contest the 2027 presidential election and that backing President Bola Tinubu for a second term is the only realistic option open to it.

Kennedy Ahanotu, the party’s national youth leader, made the remark as the Labour Party remains split between two rival leadership camps and with the general election less than 18 months away.

“I can’t say that the Labour Party is prepared to contest in 2027… the only option is to support Mr President.”

The position marks a reversal for Mr Ahanotu, who was adopted in Abuja on 30 May 2026 as the presidential candidate of the Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party, after what the faction described as a consensus primary in which he polled about 2.94 million votes. He said at the time that he accepted the nomination with “a full sense of responsibility” and pledged to reunite the party.

His comments echo those of Abia State Governor Alex Otti, who said in an interview with Arise News that he could not oppose President Tinubu while serving as a governor and a member of the National Economic Council. “What do you expect me to say? To say I’m not supporting him?” Mr Otti said. “I have to support him.”

Labour Party’s divided house

The Labour Party, which surged into national prominence at the 2023 election on the back of Peter Obi’s presidential campaign, has since fractured over control of its national machinery.

One wing is led by Mr Abure, the party’s national chairman, whose National Working Committee adopted Mr Ahanotu. A rival faction, chaired by former senator Nenadi Usman and supported by Mr Otti, presented Dr Chibuzo Okereke as its own presidential candidate on the same weekend in May 2026.

The two parallel primaries left the party with two men claiming its 2027 ticket, a dispute that has fed into litigation and weakened its standing as an opposition force.

The crisis has also spilled into public disagreements over the party’s stance towards the ruling All Progressives Congress. In April 2026, the Labour Party disowned comments by Abayomi Arabambi, a factional South-West vice chairman, who claimed that key stakeholders had resolved to support President Tinubu. The party said at the time that Mr Arabambi was an expelled member with no authority to speak for it, and insisted it had taken no decision to back the President’s re-election.

Mr Ahanotu has himself been a critic of Mr Obi, telling TVC News in June 2026 that the former Anambra State governor was “not a builder of men” and “abandons his own people”.

INEC list and the Supreme Court

The Independent National Electoral Commission published its final list of 18 presidential candidates and running mates for the 2027 general election on 12 September 2026, with President Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima listed for the APC.

The Abure faction had earlier faulted the commission’s candidate list, saying Mr Ahanotu was not uploaded as the Labour Party’s flagbearer. In a statement in August 2026, Mr Ahanotu urged supporters to remain calm and said the matter was before the Supreme Court.

“The publication by INEC should therefore be viewed within the context of an ongoing judicial process,” he said, adding that he had “complete confidence” the apex court would resolve the issue.

Nigerian law requires parties to submit their candidates to INEC within the timetable set for the election cycle, and disputes over nomination are typically settled by the courts. A party that fails to secure a valid nomination risks being left off the ballot entirely — a prospect that gives weight to the argument that the Labour Party’s internal wrangling could cost it its place in the contest.

Opposition alliance under pressure

Mr Ahanotu’s remark lands amid wider attempts by opposition figures to build a common front against the APC.

At a national summit in Ibadan, Oyo State, opposition parties said in a communiqué that they would work towards fielding a single presidential candidate for 2027, a move aimed at preventing a repeat of the fragmented vote that helped the APC in previous cycles. Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Mr Obi and former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso were among those at the gathering.

Unity has proved difficult to sustain. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, Mr Obi’s running mate in 2023, said on the Mic On Podcast that none of the candidates challenging President Tinubu could change Nigeria, “including Peter Obi”, and accused the President of weakening opposition parties.

President Tinubu, who was elected in 2023 on the APC ticket, has said his reforms — including the removal of the fuel subsidy and changes to the foreign exchange regime — will deliver long-term gains and earn him a renewed mandate. His administration has faced public anger over inflation and the cost of living.

The Labour Party’s national publicity secretary, Ken Asogwa, said in August 2026 that the party was ready to begin campaigns for all elective offices and that its candidate had signed the peace accord ahead of the polls. Whether the party enters the race with one candidate or none remains before the courts, and Mr Ahanotu’s latest intervention suggests that sections of its leadership are already weighing an alternative arrangement.