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Immediate past Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential torchbearer in the 2023 general elections, have linked up at the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, United States.
Osinbajo and Obi joined other notable Nigerian political figures attending as special guests, the National International Leaders Forum (ILF) - a sideline event at the ongoing DNC organised by the Democratic Institute (NDI) based in Washington, DC.
According to the NDI, the two Nigerian heavyweight politicians, alongside former Senate President Ken Nnamani, were all invited.
The US-based body was also said to have invited the Federal House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, but it remains to be seen if he had honoured the invitation.
Osinbajo, Obi link up at 2024 DNC
In photos circulating on social media, Obi and the former Vice President were pictured sitting together in a hall, engaging in a casual conversation.
Taking to his X on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, the former Labour Party candidate expressed gratitude and honour for being invited to the event by NDI.
He said he was invited “along with two other eminent Nigerians, and about two hundred other distinguished political leaders from over 91 countries, including former Heads of Governments.
“We were invited to participate in the 2024 International Leaders Forum (ILF) on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, holding on 19-22 August 2024.
“I am honoured and grateful to Senator Thomas Daschle and the Board of NDI for the gracious invitation,” Obi posted.
What you should know about the ILF, NDI
The ILF, now in its 11th edition, is a quadrennial event, which has been running since 1984. The forum usually brings together senior politicians and policymakers from around the world to observe the American democratic process.
In the same vein, the NDI is a notable non-profit and non-partisan organisation based in the US that pushes Democratic values around the world.
The invitation of Osinbajo and Obi to such an august occasion underlined the global engagement and international political profiles of the two illustrious Nigerians, as well as Nigeria’s active role in the global democratic community.