By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the last general election in Nigeria, Mr. Peter Obi has appointed Dr. Yunusa Tanko as the interim national coordinator of his Obidient Movement worldwide.
Obidient Movement sprang up in the build-up to the 2023 elections as a body of supporters of Mr Obi cut across states, tribes and countries.
Obi announced the new appointment at an X Space engagement on Tuesday and explained that the choice of Tanko was agreed upon after consensus to zone the position to the north.
The LP national leader also stressed that his track record and leadership qualities were also considered.
He said, “Last week, I held an X space to announce the start of a series of engagements that will help establish this structure. To drive this process, I set up a team to manage these conversations. This team was tasked with holding a series of consultations and engagements.
“Moving forward, it is crucial to have leadership in place to support this building process. After extensive consultations within the movement and reviewing feedback from Obidients through the ideas submitted, there is a consensus that the position of National Coordinator should go to the North.
“From the nominations submitted by key stakeholders in the movement and shared with the engagement team, Dr Tanko Yunusa emerged as the most nominated candidate for this role.
“I want to clarify that all positions filled at this stage are on an interim basis until our structure is fully developed. Remember, we have over one million leadership positions to fill as we work to build a Nigeria that works for everyone. Please be thoughtful in your nominations to help us onboard people with the competence, character, and capacity to lead.”
Before the new appointment, Tanko was Obi’s Spokesman and Media Director of the defunct Labour Party Presidential Campaign Organisation.
In 2015, he was the Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) before moving to National Conscience Party (NCP) where he became the presidential candidate in 2019.
