A former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Dr Segun Showunmi, has launched a scathing critique of former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, describing him as unserious and “extremely irritatingly lazy” in matters of structural thinking, leadership responsibility and long term political organisation.
Showunmi made the remarks while analysing the state of opposition politics and the emerging permutations ahead of the 2027 general elections, with particular focus on the internal condition of the PDP and Obi’s evolving political calculations. He spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s Hard Copy programme on Saturday.
According to Showunmi, the PDP has gradually lost its national balance and now finds itself overly dependent on the southern part of the country, having ceded significant political ground in other regions. In his assessment, the party’s weakening structure has reduced its strategic options, leaving it with what he described as a single political card to play.
“PDP has placed its hands completely in the South. PDP is now at last card, check up, and the only card they can play, ironically, is Peter Obi,” Showunmi said.
Despite this perceived dependence, Showunmi argued that Obi himself lacks the seriousness, discipline and strategic clarity required to serve as the anchor of a national opposition project. He insisted that the former Anambra State governor has failed to articulate a credible pathway to electoral victory and has repeatedly undermined his own prospects through poor political judgement.
“But Peter is not serious. He doesn’t even know where his pathway to victory is. Peter could have stayed in his Labour Party, and there would have been a clear pathway to him,” Showunmi said.
He accused Obi of a pattern of political restlessness, arguing that the former presidential candidate has consistently abandoned platforms instead of investing in the difficult work of building and reforming party structures.
“Every time Peter has to move, there is always somebody else but not Peter. I don’t deal with that kind of laziness. Peter Obi is extremely lazy,” he said.
Showunmi stressed that leadership requires patience, endurance and long term commitment, qualities he believes Obi has failed to demonstrate. He said Obi has shown an unwillingness to confront internal party challenges head on, preferring instead to disengage and seek alternative political arrangements.
“When it comes to structural thinking, he is very lazy,” Showunmi added. “He is lazy to think that if he had been in APGA all these years, he couldn’t have built this crowd. He would have. It is laziness for him to think that if he were in PDP, he couldn’t still have been; he would have.”
He also faulted Obi for failing to take responsibility for resolving the internal problems of the Labour Party after benefiting from its platform in the 2023 elections.
“He is extremely irritatingly lazy to think that he can’t solve the problems of the LP; he would have,” Showunmi said.
Beyond Obi’s personal disposition, Showunmi questioned the political wisdom of the alliances the former governor is now forming. He argued that Obi risks marginalisation by aligning himself with political figures and blocs where he would struggle to assert dominance or even secure a party ticket.
“Now he has joined himself with people that I know he can’t even win primaries in their midst,” he said.
Drawing attention to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Showunmi warned against underestimating entrenched political actors with decades of institutional experience.
“I know Atiku very well, and nobody takes him for granted when it comes to primaries. You know why? He has institutional experience of how these things have worked out since 1992,” he said.
Showunmi cautioned that Obi’s confrontational style and outsider posture would not be effective within highly structured political parties dominated by seasoned power brokers.
“You don’t come into a political party where that kind of man is running for a ticket, and you think you are just going to start screaming, ‘I’m not going to agree.’ Who is going to listen to that nonsense?” he asked.
He further referenced influential political blocs linked to former President Muhammadu Buhari, including figures such as Nasir El Rufai and Isa Pantami, arguing that these groups are neither politically naïve nor easily intimidated.
“You are going to bully those ones? Do they look like people that are easily bullied? So, what are you doing there?” he queried.
Showunmi also questioned Obi’s capacity to manage and consolidate the political energy generated by his supporters during the 2023 election. While acknowledging that Obi mobilised millions of votes, he argued that leadership requires the ability to organise, discipline and sustain such support beyond electoral moments.
“If your numbers are six million animated numbers that you got the last time, do you not understand that leaders have the responsibility to manage their house?” he asked.
Using a family analogy, Showunmi said leadership demands firm and sometimes uncomfortable decision making.
“It is like the father of a house running out just because some kids are crying. Your duty is to attend to the problem. Some of them you have to punch. Some of them you have to scold. Some of them you have to pamper,” he said.
While conceding that Obi enjoys popularity and enthusiastic backing, Showunmi maintained that popularity alone does not translate into effective political organisation.
“Peter isn’t capable of organising anything apart from this silly show he does all over the world. But it is still something because there is animated energy there. There is enough energy, and luckily for him, there is also some entitlement legitimacy,” he said.
Turning to the PDP’s internal crisis, Showunmi lamented the party’s decline following the loss of South East support and Obi’s exit from the party. He described the Igbo electorate as a critical pillar of the PDP’s historical strength.
“You can’t be in the Peoples Democratic Party of Nigeria and not know that Igbos are the ones that have been carrying that party. And once we lost them, look at us,” he said.
According to him, rebuilding trust with the South East could significantly alter the PDP’s fortunes.
“If we can bring them back, and we can just say, ‘Peter, we are sorry about that,’ then you will see immediately all that energy will come back,” Showunmi said.
However, he warned Obi against assuming exclusive ownership of South East political capital, noting that new power centres and influential leaders are emerging across the region.
“What Peter is not seeing is that every election needs to be re measured. In measuring 2027, you have to understand that the South East cannot keep suffering because of the ambition of one person,” he said.
He cited figures such as Minister of Works Dave Umahi and Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo as examples of leaders asserting authority and shaping new political realities in the region.
“That energy, that Igbos’ energy, is no longer exclusively his,” Showunmi said. “Underrate Dave Umahi for your good. You have people like Soludo speaking the right tough language.”
Referencing Soludo’s recent decision to confront the sit at home culture in Anambra State, Showunmi described it as an example of decisive leadership.
“He just told them, you guys don’t go to work on Monday, I’m shutting the market. That is how a leader behaves. A leader tells people of consequence,” he said.
Showunmi’s remarks have added fresh intensity to the ongoing debate over opposition leadership, strategy and coherence ahead of the 2027 general elections, as political parties and aspirants reposition for what is expected to be a fiercely contested race.
