Ex-APC Senatorial Aspirant Dumps Tinubu, Declares Support For Peter Obi

A former All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial aspirant for Benue South, Daniel Onjeh, has withdrawn his support for President Bola Tinubu and Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State.

This was just as he publicly declared his allegiance to the presidential bid of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Onjeh announced the shift in political allegiance on Thursday while sharing footage of his recent meeting with NDC vice presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso.

In a post accompanying the video, the former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) described himself as “humbly Obidient,”.

“They misconstrued my principles as stubbornness. Now, I’m humbly Obidient. You go where you’re valued,” Onjeh stated.

His latest position marks a sharp departure from his earlier support for Tinubu and Alia. Onjeh had been one of the prominent APC voices defending the Tinubu administration and had openly backed the President’s policies, describing him as the most decisive reformer Nigeria had produced in the Fourth Republic.

He had also urged Nigerian youths to support Tinubu’s re-election, while dismissing the emerging opposition coalition as a gathering of politicians seeking to regain lost political relevance.

It is understood that Onjeh’s political realignment comes months after he withdrew from the APC senatorial primary for Benue South, citing alleged irregularities, lack of transparency and what he described as a predetermined outcome.

He had declared his intention to contest the 2027 election on the APC platform but later pulled out of the primary, alleging that powerful interests within the party had already decided the outcome.

According to him, concerns raised over the process were dismissed as rumours, while developments during recent House of Representatives primaries in Benue South reinforced his fears that the party’s internal democratic processes had been compromised.

“What many party members witnessed were not transparent democratic contests but outcomes that appeared prearranged long before the exercise itself,” Onjeh had alleged.

“In reality, there were no genuine primaries in many places as names allegedly contained in prewritten lists were simply announced.”

The development has now culminated in his public break with the APC leadership in the state and at the federal level, as he embraces the political camp associated with Obi and Kwankwaso.

Onjeh’s decision is particularly significant given his previous assessment of the Tinubu administration.

In a statement marking the President’s second year in office, he had described opposition efforts to unseat Tinubu through a political coalition as a “failed project,” insisting that the alliance was doomed by contradictions and selfish political interests.

He had also praised Tinubu’s economic reforms, describing the removal of fuel subsidy and other measures as painful but necessary steps towards rebuilding the economy.

At the time, Onjeh said Tinubu had demonstrated unusual policy clarity, firmness and courage in implementing reforms despite widespread criticism.

He argued that the administration was laying the foundation for a new generation of Nigerian leaders and urged youths to support the President’s re-election.

Onjeh did not explicitly state that his latest decision was a direct consequence of his failure to secure the APC ticket.