A former organiser of the Obidient Movement, Marcel Ngogbehei, has allied with the Tinubu Must Stay Movement ahead of the 2027 general elections, marking a political shift by a group that mobilised support for Peter Obi in 2023.
The Directorate of Mobilisation and Integration, led by Ngogbehei, formalised the alliance with the Tinubu Must Stay Movement following a meeting in London, with the leadership of both organisations ratifying the agreement on Sunday.
Ngogbehei, a pioneer organiser of the Obidient Movement and former chairman of the Coalition for Peter Obi, previously mobilised support for Obi under the Labour Party ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
The development comes amid political realignments ahead of the 2027 elections and the prolonged crisis within the Labour Party.
In a statement on Sunday, DMI said its National Executive Committee approved the alliance at an emergency meeting following a national strategy session on September 18, which authorised its leadership to explore new political and institutional partnerships.
The organisation said its decision was informed by concerns that calls for President Bola Tinubu to leave office had not been matched by sufficiently detailed explanations of what the opposition would do differently.
“If Tinubu must go, what exactly is the alternative?” DMI asked.
It argued that Nigerians grappling with rising food prices, transportation costs, unemployment and insecurity deserved clear policy proposals from opposition parties rather than campaigns centred solely on removing the incumbent president.
“Government must account for its record. The opposition must account for its alternatives. Nigerians deserve both,” the directorate stated.
The alliance was agreed during a meeting lasting more than five hours between Ngogbehei and Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the founder of the Tinubu Must Stay Movement and a member of the President’s Campaign Council.
DMI said the discussions covered the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms, diaspora investment, infrastructure development and human capital initiatives, including the Three Million Technical Talent programme, DL4ALL, technical and vocational education and training, and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Ngogbehei expressed appreciation to Abdullahi for the engagement, describing their discussions on economic reforms and Nigeria’s long-term development as valuable.
He said the meeting provided an opportunity to examine the administration’s policy direction and the need for continuity in implementing its development agenda.
DMI also compared the current political atmosphere with the build-up to the 2015 general elections, when former President Goodluck Jonathan faced intense opposition campaigns.
The organisation said the experience reinforced the need to scrutinise proposed alternatives alongside the record of an incumbent administration.
Beyond the alliance, DMI announced plans to establish a permanent civic-accountability programme to assess political promises, policy proposals, funding arrangements and their implications for citizens.
It said the programme would continue beyond the 2027 elections.
The directorate also claimed to have more than 500 state and Federal Capital Territory coordinators and over 11,000 local government area coordinators nationwide.
Ngogbehei said the partnership would open a new chapter in the organisation’s engagement with national development and public policy.
“Our alliance with the Tinubu Must Stay Movement is about encouraging that conversation. Opposition is a democratic right, but credible alternatives matter,” he said.
With the agreement ratified by both organisations, DMI and TMS are expected to coordinate their public engagement and policy activities ahead of the 2027 elections.
