Ikenna Azomchine, a former leader of the Obidient movement who has now joined the All Progressives Congress (APC), has explained why some members of the movement in Anambra State stopped supporting Peter Obi.
Azomchine, who spoke during an interview with Trust TV, said the decision was largely influenced by Obi’s handling of the 2025 Anambra governorship election and his choice of candidate.
According to the former Obidient leader, members of the movement in Anambra had spent about four years building the political network and sustaining its activities with their personal resources.
He said their objective was to strengthen the movement across the Southeast while ensuring that the political structure they had built in Anambra remained relevant beyond the 2025 election.
Why Some Obidient Members Turned Against Peter Obi
Azomchine said members of the Obidient network in Anambra had supported the idea of Governor Chukwuma Soludo continuing in office because they believed the governor had demonstrated competence.
However, he said Obi did not accept their position and instead backed another candidate whom members of the group were not familiar with.
Azomchine questioned why Obi would come into Anambra and introduce a different candidate when members of the movement had already considered Soludo suitable for the state.
He argued that the development created dissatisfaction among some members who had invested considerable time, energy and personal resources in building the Obidient movement in Anambra.
The former Team Obidient leader said Obi’s decision contributed significantly to his eventual departure from the movement.
Azomchine Says Members Wanted Continuity
Azomchine said the members who had built the movement in Anambra were interested in maintaining a strong political structure in the state.
He suggested that their position was based on their assessment of what would be best for Anambra rather than simply following the preferences of the movement’s national leadership.
According to him, the disagreement over the governorship candidate exposed differences between the expectations of grassroots members and the direction taken by Obi.
His comments provide an insight into the internal disagreements that emerged among supporters of the Obidient movement ahead of the 2025 Anambra governorship election.
Former Obidient Leader Defends Tinubu Administration
Azomchine also discussed the administration of President Bola Tinubu and argued that some of the criticism directed at the Federal Government was partly the result of political mismanagement of the President’s image.
He pointed to the funds available to state governors and ongoing road construction projects across the country as examples of developments under the current administration.
Azomchine argued that the public perception of the Tinubu administration did not always reflect what he described as the level of government activity across the country.
His comments come after his political movement away from Obi and towards the APC.
Azomchine’s Political Shift
Explaining his decision to move away from Obi, Azomchine said it was influenced by what he regarded as Obi’s failure to listen to members who had built the Obidient movement in Anambra.
He maintained that the grassroots members who had invested their resources in the movement expected their views to be taken seriously when major political decisions affecting the state were being made.
The former Obidient leader’s comments have renewed attention on the political divisions that emerged within the movement following the 2025 Anambra governorship election.
They also highlight the differing political positions of former Obidient supporters as Nigeria’s political landscape begins to take shape ahead of the 2027 general election.