Ahead of the 2027 election, Yunusa Tanko, national coordinator of the Obidient Movement, on Thursday, January 1, 2026, said the group will stay within the ADC.

Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, monitored by Legit.ng, Tanko explained that Obidients, a sobriquet for staunch supporters of Obi, will respect the outcome of the ADC’s presidential primary, even if Atiku Abubakar becomes the candidate.

Tanko insisted that the Obidient Movement was committed to democratic principles and would take its decisions “democratically” within the ADC.

He said: “As democrats, we will go in there and contest equitably well with every contestant based on democratic tenets. We believe that at the end of it all, Mr. Peter Obi will come out on top with the large teaming population that he is bringing into the ADC."

Obidients pledge loyalty to ADC

Asked what the movement would do if former vice president Atiku Abubakar won the ADC primary election, Yunusa replied:

“We will remain at the party and give the party the lease of life it demands democratically.”

Tinubu’s spokesman batters Obi

Meanwhile, Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesperson to President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, mocked Obi, describing him as "the wandering politician."

In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) page Wednesday evening, December 31, 2025, Onanuga, the special adviser on information and strategy to President Tinubu, predicted that the Obidient movement leader will end up being former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in the 2027 election.

He said:

"About three years after the 2023 election, Obi, the wandering politician — who moved from APGA to PDP to Labour and now ADC — still sounded bitter about coming third. He continues to claim he was robbed of victory, even though empirical analyses of the poll showed he could not have won and was fortunate to even emerge third because of the anomalous polling figures recorded for him in his South East region. At his event, Obi’s bitterness was evident."

Onanuga added: "Obi is so blind that he cannot see Tinubu's achievements, as he jumped from Labour to ADC, where he will play second fiddle and end up being Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in 2027, like we witnessed in 2019."