By Kingston Magare 24.3.2026
Former Nigeria Court Appeal president Ayo Salami said Peter Obi violated constitutional provisions when he contested under the banner of the Labour Party in 2023.
Justice Salami who was speaking Tuesday in Ilorin Kwara State during a courtesy visit by officials of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), said Obi’s candidacy was inconsistent with constitutional provisions because the LP had already submitted its membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“Peter Obi ought not be allowed to contest the 2023 presidential election,” Salami said.
“In the sense that by the time he lost the PDP primary, LP had submitted its list of members to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“And the Constitution says there cannot be an independent candidacy. How did he become a candidate of LP if he does not belong to LP?”
Salami also cited the case of Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano state, who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The same thing happened to the Governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, who had now defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“His name is not in the NNDP’s register, but they issued him a membership card, and the register is supposed to be the mother of the card,” he said.