THE AFRICA REPORT
After their political parties suffered a string of defeats to President Bola Tinubu’s APC in four consecutive governorship elections in a year, Nigeria’s main opposition figures – Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi – are discussing adopting a new political party.
Sources tell The Africa Report that Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s ex-presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi, leader of the Labour Party, met recently where they discussed sensitive plans to adopt a new political party.
Insiders say this is in preparation for the 2027 presidential election, as the crises in their respective political parties show no signs of abating.
While Obi and his team did not respond to inquiries, a spokesperson for Atiku tells The Africa Report that the option of a merger remains on the table but did not provide specific details.
Show of political camaraderie
Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, has been invited by the former vice president to be the keynote speaker at an event to commemorate Atiku’s 78th birthday. Known as Founder’s Day, the event will take place at the Atiku-owned Abubakar University (AAU) in Yola, northeast Nigeria on 30 November.
The programme is organised to show the camaraderie between the men and send a message to the Tinubu administration that their bond remains strong.
Since their loss to President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election, Atiku and Obi have been comparing notes on the way forward and a possible merger.
However, the consolidation of the PDP and the Labour Party may be unfeasible due to the prolonged crises, which their supporters accuse Tinubu of sponsoring. PDP is led by Umar Damagum, a loyalist of Nyesom Wike, who currently serves in Tinubu’s cabinet. The Labour Party national chairman is Julius Abure, who is at loggerheads with Obi.
With election season expected to commence in just 13 months, discussions between Obi and Atiku are said to have entered an advanced stage and include other politicians dissatisfied with Tinubu’s style of governance. Former governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, who was unceremoniously dropped from Tinubu’s cabinet picks due to a security report is said to be part of the discussions.
Q Kwankwaso, who accused Tinubu of trying to colonise northern Nigeria, has been carried along in the discussions but has made no commitments so far, says a PDP spokesperson who wished to remain anonymous.
United, the opposition would be stronger
Obi and Atiku contested on a joint presidential ticket in 2019 on the PDP platform but lost to former president Muhammadu Buhari of the APC. Ahead of the 2023 election, Obi defected to the Labour Party and contested for the presidency, garnering 6.1 million votes with minimal resources and no help from the political establishment.
Atiku bagged 6.8 million votes, while Kwankwaso got just over a million. Tinubu, who was the eventual winner, polled 8.4 million votes.
Public affairs commentators and even Tinubu’s campaign agreed that had the opposition been united against the APC, Tinubu would not have won the 2023 election, especially because of the mismanagement of the economy by the Buhari administration…
