Obi appears for NDC presidential screening

Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi arrived at the national headquarters of the Nigeria Democratic Congress in Abuja on Tuesday evening for the party’s presidential screening ahead of the 2027 general election.

The screening exercise comes amid growing political discussions within the party over Obi’s chances of emerging as the NDC presidential candidate. In recent days, many party supporters and political observers have described him as a leading figure in the race, especially after the party stopped the sale of presidential nomination forms while extending the deadline for governorship, Senate and House of Representatives forms.

Obi arrived at the party secretariat around 6:45 pm in a black sport utility vehicle. Dressed in his usual black kaftan and cap, the former Labour Party presidential candidate entered the venue shortly after the chairman of the screening committee, Sam Egwu, arrived for the exercise.

Shortly after getting to the venue, Obi was seen handing over his Expression of Interest and Nomination forms to one of his aides before proceeding into the screening session. He was accompanied by Victor Umeh.

The development followed the recent inauguration of a 17-member screening committee set up by the NDC to oversee the screening of aspirants contesting different elective offices ahead of the 2027 elections.

The party had earlier announced that Sam Egwu would lead the committee responsible for screening presidential, governorship, senatorial and House of Representatives aspirants. The committee also includes several party leaders and political figures such as Buba Galadima, Ikeddy Isiguzo, Wole Adedayo and Udenta Udenta.

The party’s National Secretary, Ikenna Morgan Enekweizu, had disclosed that the committee would supervise the screening and qualification process for aspirants seeking various elective positions under the party.

Obi’s appearance at the screening further strengthens speculation that he may eventually emerge as the party’s consensus presidential candidate for the 2027 election, despite repeated denials from both his camp and the party leadership.