The former Anambra State governor Peter Obi has formally registered as a member of the African Democratic Congress, marking a new political chapter as he prepares for the next election cycle and pledges to challenge Nigeria’s newly enacted electoral law in court.
Obi, the Labour party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, completed his registration in his hometown of Agulu in Aniocha local government area of Anambra State on Saturday.
Speaking shortly after joining the party, he said he would challenge the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, arguing that aspects of the law could be used to manipulate the outcome of the 2027 general elections.
According to Obi, parts of the legislation appeared designed to weaken the integrity of future elections and tilt the playing field in favour of the ruling party.
He also accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of overstepping its constitutional mandate by attempting to influence how political parties organise their internal processes, particularly the selection of candidates.
“I am going to challenge the decision in court; INEC has no reason to assume processes in how political parties elect their candidates,” he said. “Its responsibility is to conduct elections.”
Drawing a sporting analogy, Obi added: “You don’t tell a team how to prepare its players before a match. As a referee, INEC’s role is to officiate, not to determine which players a team should field.”
He alleged that the legislative changes were being rushed through to benefit the ruling party ahead of the next presidential contest.
“All the laws being hurriedly created are simply aimed at enabling the ruling party to snatch the 2027 presidential election and run away with it,” he said.
Obi urged party members and supporters to intensify grassroots mobilisation ahead of the vote. Citing voter statistics in Anambra, he said expanding participation would be key to political change.
“We have about 2.8 million registered voters in Anambra, and I urge everyone to go to the grassroots and mobilise people to register and be ready to vote,” he said.
The former candidate also called for greater cooperation among opposition forces, saying discussions were already under way across regions.
“In this journey of 2027, we in the south-east are working as a family and discussing with other regions,” he said. “The goal is to unite the opposition and create a new Nigeria. The south-east is part of Nigeria and no region is more Nigerian than the south-east.”
Obi also criticised Nigeria’s current socio-economic conditions, describing the country as one of the poorest globally despite its vast natural resources.
“We cannot continue in an era where Nigeria has become one of the worst five countries in the world and the poverty capital of the world,” he said. “We are committed to building a Nigeria where the child of a nobody can become somebody without knowing anybody.”
At the event, the national organising secretary of the ADC, Chinedu Idigo, said the party’s membership registration drive would take place both online and through physical centres.
Prospective members, he explained, would complete online registration before visiting designated locations to collect their membership cards.
Idigo added that the party planned to adopt a direct primary system for selecting candidates in future elections, noting that 50,000 membership cards had already been distributed across the state, with more expected.
Also speaking, the ADC candidate in the November 2025 Anambra governorship election, John Nwosu, described Obi’s registration as a major boost for the party.
“This is a day of joy,” Nwosu said. “The journey of Obi to the presidency begins today.”
He urged party members to close ranks and avoid internal divisions, adding that lessons from the 2023 Nigerian general election—including vote buying, voter apathy and weak polling-unit representation—were being studied as the party prepared for future contests.
