2023: Mr Ibu Joins Rally For Peter Obi In Jos After Endorsing Tinubu

John Okafor

Veteran actor, John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu, has sparked mixed reactions online after joining thousands of Nigerians to rally for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi in Jos.

Photos and videos of the actor at the event have been making rounds on social media.

In one of the videos, the crowd could be heard hailing the 60-year-old who wore a branded polo with the Labour Party logo and pictures of Peter Obi and his running mate Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed.

Recall that in November 2021, Mr Ibu during a conference meeting with the theme, ‘South West Stands with Bola Tinubu’ openly endorsed the former Governor of Lagos, saying he has really impacted many people.

A video that went viral last year, showed the actor and some of his colleagues like Foluke Daramola, Harry Anyanwu and Benedict Johnson in a meeting with members of APC and Tinibu’s campaign team.

After receiving blacklash from critics over the visit, Ibu was forced to release a statement denying that he endorsed Tinubu for president.

Ibu claimed that his alligance was with former Vice President and Peoples Democratic party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and not Tinubu.

“I am a completely independent person in the area I perform, I am a comedian, a musician and an actor. I don’t know why this is going round like this. I have never run any sideways. From time it has been me and Atiku all this while. He has been taking me to places and if Atiku is contesting for president, certainly because he has done a lot of things for me, there was a time he changed a house for me. He is like a father to me. He is contesting for president under PDP.

“Atiku is my candidate, these are my people, anybody I visited is simply because I’m an actor and they want me to assist them one way or the other in whatever they are doing. That does not mean I abandoned them. I did not,” he said.