A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Segun Showunmi, has launched a scathing critique of former presidential candidate Peter Obi, describing him as lacking seriousness and “lazy” when it comes to long-term structural and strategic political thinking.
Showunmi made the remarks on Saturday while speaking during an interview on Hard Copy, a political programme aired on Channels Television, where he analysed recent political realignments and the evolving dynamics ahead of future elections.
According to the PDP stalwart, Obi’s frequent movement between political parties reflects a lack of coherent strategy and undermines his chances of consolidating political strength within any single platform.
He argued that Obi failed to take advantage of opportunities that could have provided him with a clearer path to electoral success.
“Peter Obi is not serious. He doesn’t know where his victory card is,” Showunmi said. “He could have stayed in the Labour Party, and there could have been a clear path to victory for him.”
Showunmi accused the former Anambra State governor of constantly shifting political alliances rather than committing to the hard work of building enduring party structures. In his view, such behaviour points to a deeper weakness in Obi’s approach to politics.
“Every time he’s moving around. I don’t deal with that kind of laziness,” he said. “When it comes to structural thinking, Peter Obi is very lazy.”
Expanding on his criticism, Showunmi argued that Obi had missed an opportunity to build a formidable political base over time by failing to remain consistent within a single party.
He suggested that if Obi had stayed within the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for an extended period, he could have organically developed the widespread support he currently enjoys.
“He is too lazy to think that if he had remained in APGA all this while, he couldn’t have built the crowd he has now,” Showunmi added.
The PDP chieftain also questioned Obi’s current political alignment, warning that he is now associated with political heavyweights against whom he would struggle to compete in internal party contests.
He specifically referenced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, noting his long-standing experience and dominance in party primaries.
“Now he has aligned himself with people among whom I know he can’t even win a primary,” Showunmi said. “I know Atiku very well, and nobody takes him for granted when it comes to primaries because he has institutional experience of how these things work out since 1992.”
He further criticised what he described as a confrontational posture by Obi’s supporters, arguing that insisting on Obi as the only acceptable candidate in a party with entrenched figures is unrealistic.
“You don’t come to a political party with that kind of man and start screaming that if it’s not Peter Obi, you won’t agree. Who will listen to that?” he asked.