Prominent Nigerian activist Aisha Yesufu has sparked controversy by accusing supporters of the Labour Party, known as “Obidients,” of making ill-informed voting choices during the 2023 general elections, leading to underperforming representatives in the National Assembly.
In a clip shared on X (formerly Twitter) by user MoCrown👸 Modupe Adeboye-Ayoroh (@msmocrown), Yesufu expressed frustration during an X Spaces discussion titled “State of the Nation | ADC Coalition | A Chat w/Aisha Yesufu.” The post, which has garnered over 9,000 views, summarizes Yesufu’s remarks: “Aisha Yesufu says the Labour party supporters were not thinking when they voted in 2023. ‘The people who rode on the 2023 election wave’ Obidients voted people without checking their capacity, character and competence into the national assembly, now they are stuck. You people made stupid political decisions in 2023 and you will still repeat it in 2027.”
The video clip from the Spaces session features Yesufu addressing the audience, emphasizing that voters failed to properly vet candidates. “There were people who got into National Assembly but in real term we didn’t choose them,” she said. “We did not in a sense we didn’t check them. We did not curate them well, and we didn’t check whether they have… competence, character, capacity… integrity, empathy… patriotism… courage.”
Yesufu, a vocal supporter of Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi in 2023 and co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, argued that many elected officials rode the wave of Obi’s popularity without scrutiny. “These were people who found themselves on the ballot paper and of course a lot of people just said OK let’s vote that. It was one person that they were voting for like say okay we don’t want him to be alone okay vote for accordingly vote for other,” she explained, referring to the tendency to vote along party lines without evaluating individual candidates.
She warned that these representatives have become “part of the problem,” failing to use their constitutional powers to fight for Nigerians. “You are part and parcel because you sat down to do it,” Yesufu stated, criticizing them for remaining silent in the Red and Green Chambers while resorting to social media rants. “Don’t come out and be talking to us. Go in there… look them dead in the eye.”
Looking ahead to the 2027 elections, Yesufu urged better candidate selection to avoid repeating past mistakes. “As we go into 2027 this is the time for us to curate who are the people that are going to go National Assembly and they will not sit down there like cowards,” she added.
The post has elicited mixed reactions online, with some users agreeing that the Labour Party lacks structure and foresight, while others defend the movement’s grassroots origins. Yesufu’s comments come amid ongoing debates about political accountability in Nigeria, where the Labour Party made significant gains in 2023 but has faced criticism for internal divisions and legislative inaction.
Neither Yesufu nor the Labour Party has issued an official response to the viral clip as of this report.