Peter Obi has broken his silence on his exit from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), saying his decision was not driven by personal ambition but by deep concern over the direction of opposition politics and the worsening state of the country. In a social media post on Sunday, the former Labour Party presidential candidate said he left the ADC after noticing familiar patterns of internal crisis, legal disputes and political hostility that had earlier forced him out of the Labour Party. “Let me state clearly: my decision to leave the ADC is not because our highly respected Chairman, Senator David Mark, treated me badly, nor because my leader and elder brother, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other respected leaders did anything personally wrong to me,” Obi said on X. He said he still holds David Mark, Atiku Abubakar and other senior political figures in high regard, but insisted that the same forces that destabilised the Labour Party had begun to creep into the ADC. “However, the same Nigerian state and its agents that created unnecessary crises and hostility within the Labour Party that forced me to leave now appear to be finding their way into the ADC, with endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and division,” he said. Obi said what disturbed him most was the pattern of politics built on control, exclusion and internal sabotage at a time the country is grappling with far deeper national problems. “Even within spaces where one labours sincerely, one is sometimes treated like an outsider in one’s own home. You and your team become easy targets for every failure, frustration, or misunderstanding,” he continued. He said his decision to step away was partly to preserve peace, even though he continued to face criticism and attacks despite withdrawing from the internal battles. “And when you choose to leave so that those you are leaving can have peace, and you step out into the cold, you are still maligned and your character is questioned,” Obi said. Obi also used the statement to push back against growing speculation around his 2027 ambition, saying his focus remains national recovery, not personal power. “Let me assure all that I am not desperate to be President, Vice President, or Senate President,” he added. He said his real concern is building a country where citizens feel safe, children can go to school without fear, and families no longer live in hunger, displacement and uncertainty. “I am desperate to see a society that can console a mother whose child has been kidnapped or killed while going to school or work. I am desperate to see a Nigeria where people will not live in IDP camps but in their homes. I am desperate for a country where Nigerian citizens do not go to bed hungry,” Obi concluded. Obi maintained that despite the setbacks, he has not given up on the country, insisting that Nigeria can still work under competent leadership built on justice, compassion and equal opportunity for all.