Segun Sowunmi, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, has accused the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, of turning his supporters, widely known as Obidients, against prominent Nigerians through their criticism of public figures.
Sowunmi made the allegation during an interview on Vanguard’s Politics Hub, where he criticised Obi’s political movement and argued that its supporters had become hostile to people who disagreed with them.
“The problem with the Igbo agenda Peter Obi is running is that he has made his Obidients to become enemy of everybody,” he said.
“Their hand is on everybody’s name. They will abuse Wole Soyinka, they will abuse Okupe. We are not going to relinquish our country to their madness.”
Sowunmi’s comments came as political parties and their supporters position themselves ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He also spoke about regional political influence, arguing that political power must be negotiated and that leaders should protect their interests within their respective areas.
Referring to the late Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, Sowunmi said Nigeria had lost influential figures who previously played important roles in representing their people.
“Baba Fasoranti has just gone now. Those are the leaders that used to carry this weight for us,” he said.
He questioned whether Yoruba political leaders should surrender their influence while other groups continued to pursue their interests.
“You want me to lie on the ground and have some people overrun us?” he asked.
Sowunmi argued that political groups should be allowed to shape the direction of politics in their respective regions, adding that the Yoruba should not be expected to abandon their own interests in the name of being reasonable.
“You want me to sit down here as a bona fide Yoruba man, to say that okay, because we are reasonable, we will not control the directive principle of our areas?” he said.
He maintained that political power required negotiation and said the Yoruba had experience in that process.
“Power must be negotiated, and the Yorubas are good at doing that,” Sowunmi added.
Obi, who came third in the 2023 presidential election on the Labour Party platform, drew considerable support from young Nigerians through the Obidient movement.
His supporters have remained a visible force in Nigeria’s political debate, while critics have questioned the tone of some online exchanges involving the movement.
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