After the 2023 presidential election, where the Labour Party enjoyed massive support from youth voters, first-time participants, and urban middle-class Nigerians, the party has struggled to maintain its momentum ahead of the 2027 polls.

After Peter Obi’s “Obidient” surge, the party has faced deep setbacks, bruising internal disputes, high-profile defections, a fading grassroots movement, structural weaknesses and a splintered opposition.

Analysts note that the LP’s post-election optimism has been “severely dented by internal wrangling… and a growing exodus of elected officials”

In short, the Labour Party’s wave of youth energy has eroded.

Below are five key factors behind the party’s loss of momentum.

Internal leadership crisis and factionalism

The LP has been riven by a prolonged power struggle. A bitter dispute over party leadership, pitting the Julius Abure faction against others, has splintered its national executive.

One report observes that “internal disputes… over the legitimacy of [Julius] Abure have splintered its national executive, with Senator Nenadi Usman emerging as a factional interim national chairman”

In effect, the party has seen two rival chairmen and parallel structures, creating confusion among members.

This instability has been costly: observers note the internal crisis “has reportedly cost it more than half of its elected federal and state lawmakers”

Even the Abure-led leadership has publicly framed Obi’s exit as confirmation of earlier splits. As one statement put it, the party had “since September 2024, parted ways with Peter Obi and some of his…supporters in the National Assembly”

Defections and loss of key members

The Labour Party’s ranks have thinned dramatically. Dozens of MPs and officials have quit or crossed over to other parties.

"The LP has “lost no fewer than 21 lawmakers in just 12 months," a report by Punch stated.

Defections began as early as mid-2024, for example, Senator Ezenwa Onyewuchi (Imo East) led a group to join the ruling APC, followed by several LP House members and continued into 2025.

Notably, the party’s most prominent figure, Peter Obi himself, officially left the Labour Party at the end of 2025.

Premium Times confirmed that: “Peter Obi… has officially defected from the LP to the African Democratic Congress (ADC)."

Other former LP legislators have followed suit: federal and state lawmakers from the South-East (a former LP stronghold) have jumped to the PDP or APC.

In short, what was once a surging movement saw a “steady stream of defections… from the Senate to the House” Each loss of an elected official has weakened the party’s viability and public profile.

Declining “Obidient Movement” energy

The youthful momentum that carried the LP in 2023 has visibly waned. Observers note that less than three years after the election, “the movement that once embodied hope and optimism is struggling to retain cohesion”.

Early rallies and social-media campaigns have given way to organisational fatigue.

Key organisers have quit in frustration over lack of resources and direction. One ex-director of mobilisation warned bluntly that “goodwill alone cannot sustain a political project beyond 2023”.

In practice, the volunteer fervour that electrified the 2023 campaign proved unsustainable: without professional structure or funding, “what was once an electrifying force began to fragment”.

The result is a base that is demoralised and disorganised, no longer advancing a clear national agenda.

Difficulties sustaining nationwide structure

The LP has struggled to build a solid party machine beyond its core supporters.

Much of the 2023 surge was built on Peter Obi’s personal appeal and social media buzz, rather than on deep party institutions.

Former PDP chieftain Gbe Benjamin warned that the LP’s success “may have been too dependent on Obi’s personal appeal rather than a robust, institutionalised structure”.

In practice, local LP branches have remained weak or inactive. There have been few effective ward-level organisations, membership drives or fundraising mechanisms to keep the party alive.

With no clear chain of command or steady finances, internal discord has often gone unchecked. Even Labour’s own leadership began documenting defectors and threatening legal action under the Electoral Act, highlighting how the party’s infrastructure is crumbling. In short, without a firm nationwide apparatus, the Labour Party has been unable to consolidate its 2023 gains into lasting organisation.

Fragmented opposition and coalition challenges

Finally, Labour’s troubles have been compounded by a fractured opposition landscape. Obi himself has repeatedly warned that “no single party can oust the APC in 2027 unless they come together and present a single candidate”.

Nigeria’s smaller parties have struggled to form a united front. Former LP Lagos candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour noted that:

“We cannot go into the next elections as divided opposition parties. We must unite”

Yet building that coalition has proved elusive. BusinessDay reported that past opposition alliances in Nigeria often “collapsed under the weight of ideological differences, leadership rivalries, and competing ambitions”.

In practice, Labour’s internal conflicts have discouraged cooperation: the absence of trust between personalities means the LP finds it hard to signal to voters that it can be part of a credible unified ticket.

Consequently, Labour remains one of several fragmented opposition forces, rather than the rallying vehicle many once hoped. This divided context – with multiple parties vying against the incumbents – has sapped Labour’s momentum as much as its own internal woes.