ABUJA, NIGERIA — A reported attempt by Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi to grant activist Aisha Yesufu access to the Nigeria Democratic Congress campaign account was allegedly rejected by a senior party figure, according to a claim made on social media.
High Chief Lawrence Igbins Okoro, a former member of the Obidient Movement, made the allegation through a post on Monday, claiming that Obi approached a senior NDC leader and proposed that Yesufu be made a signatory to the campaign account. According to Okoro, the proposal was firmly rejected, and Obi was allegedly warned against raising the issue again.
“Peter Obi approached the Supreme Leader and asked for Aisha to be a signatory to the NDC campaign account. The Supreme Leader almost ate him raw and warned him never to repeat it,” Okoro wrote on X. He further claimed that Yesufu had indicated she would not take an active role in the campaign unless she was granted signatory status. “Aisha said she wouldn’t be active in the campaign if she wasn’t a signatory,” he added.
Okoro did not identify the person he referred to as the “Supreme Leader” in his post and did not provide further details about the alleged disagreement, leaving the claim unsubstantiated. Neither Obi nor Yesufu has publicly confirmed or denied the alleged exchange, and Okoro provided no evidence to support his assertion.
The claim comes amid growing commentary about Yesufu’s expected role in Obi’s 2027 presidential campaign and her approach to the election, which appears to differ from her highly visible involvement during the 2023 election cycle. Yesufu recently explained that she would not be travelling extensively with Obi as she did during the previous campaign. Instead, she said she would focus more on grassroots mobilisation and ensuring that votes are protected from the polling units through the collation process.
“There are so many other things that I am doing. I am going to be doing so you might not get out as much as possible to ensure that I’m doing this,” she said. The approach represents a shift from the nationwide campaign tours that made Yesufu one of the most prominent figures around Obi during the 2023 presidential election. Her focus now appears to be more on mobilisation at the grassroots and monitoring the electoral process.
Yesufu has also remained vocal about electoral transparency and the need for stronger safeguards in the transmission and collation of results ahead of the 2027 elections. She moved with Obi to the NDC from the African Democratic Congress and subsequently sought the NDC ticket to contest the Federal Capital Territory senatorial seat but failed. Reports at the time indicated that Yesufu encouraged her supporters to remain focused on the wider objective of the 2027 presidential election.
Her relationship with the NDC leadership has also seen moments of disagreement. In June, Yesufu criticised NDC national leader Seriake Dickson over comments he made during a television interview following the party’s primaries. She accused Dickson of focusing excessively on himself rather than reassuring aspirants who were disappointed by the outcome and projecting confidence in the party ahead of the 2027 election. Dickson, on his part, previously disclosed that he and Obi offered Yesufu a House of Representatives ticket, which she reportedly turned down.
The latest allegation concerning the NDC campaign account has not been independently verified. Neither Obi nor Yesufu has publicly confirmed the alleged disagreement, while Okoro did not provide evidence or identify the senior NDC figure involved in the claim. As the 2027 election cycle gathers momentum, such unverified claims are likely to continue surfacing, adding to the complex web of political manoeuvring and speculation that characterises Nigeria’s pre-election period. For now, the public awaits any clarification from the parties involved.
