As consultation and meetings to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu continues to gather momentum across the opposition parties in Nigeria, the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC has entered a panic mode. It was learned that some political heavyweights from the opposition political parties in company of some aggrieved APC members are teaming up as preparation ahead of the 2027 general election has been kicked off by the ruling APC.
This is as former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last election, Peter Obi, former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-rufai, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal are among notable opposition figures championing the coalition talk.
It was also learned that the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Ralphs Okey Nwosu is one of the key personalities in the coalition movement.
Obi and Atiku candidacy
There are some insinuations that Peter Obi have accepted to deputize Atiku in the 2027 presidential election.
The duos were on a joint ticket in the 2019 general election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, against the then incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari.
Some opposition figures, who believed that the election was rigged by the ruling APC, approached the court to challenged the outcome, insisting that Obi and Atiku won the election.
However, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said Obi and Atiku (PDP) won 18 states, while the ruling party won 19 states, respectively.
The electoral umpire declared that PDP garnered 11,262,978 votes, losing the position to Buhari, who scored 15,191,847 votes.
Subsequently, in 2023, Obi and Atiku contested the “election on solo”. While Obi was the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Atiku had the PDP ticket.
President Tinubu won the election with 8,794,726 votes with Atiku and Obi scoring 6,984,520 and 6,101,533 votes respectively, the election that was challenged up to the Supreme Court.
Some political analysts, believed that if Obi had contested the election as Atiku’s running mate, the duo may have scored over 13 million votes to sack the ruling party.
APC in frenzy
It was learned that the re-alignment of the opposition forces coming together against the ruling party is not seating well with the ruling party.
It was revealed over the weekend that APC has formulated more strong strategic group that is charged with assignment to attract more governors and lawmakers into the party in a bid to build a more stronger structure that would match the coalition.
According to a source, APC has resolved that “all first-time governors will have automatic tickets” to run for the 2027 elections”.
He said, “the decision is that all first-time governors will be given automatic tickets and it’s not just a ticket, the party will fight for such a governor to ensure his re-election.
“So, most governors from the opposition parties, who are not sure of their victory, are joining our party.
“For example, Akwa-Ibom and Delta State governors would have lost their re-elections if they remained in the opposition parties.
“In Delta for instance, Tinubu had settled for Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo as the next governor of the state.
“The governor knows that he cannot beat Keyamo, especially when backed by Tinubu so he decided to defect to APC.
“Regarding Akwa-Ibom State, if the Governor had refused to join APC, Akpabio could flush out his government by 2027. At the end of the day, it is all about personal interest”.
The source added that, the governors have also been given nod to handpick candidates for the national assembly.
Coalition faces Glitch
It was gathered that some setbacks have begin to crop-up into the proposed coalition particularly due to the choice of political party to be used as umbrella for the coming election.
Although some speculated that the coalition adopted ADC, the party secretly amended its constitution to grant equal rights and privileges to incoming members.
The move was interpreted by insiders as a strategic step to accommodate high-profile defectors like Atiku, Obi and others ahead of the coalition.
However, the decision sparked resistance among some powerful stakeholders, especially from states, vowing that they will not surrender their positions to new comers.
Also, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Prince Adewole Adebayo, in a recent interview, ruled out the possibility of him stepping down for another candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In another confusing development, Peter Obi in a viral video on Friday said he would contest the 2027 election on the platform of the Labour Party, fueling speculations that the coalition may end up adopting the LP.
In a twist, the National Publicity Secretary of LP, Obiora Ifoh revealed over the weekend that the Labour Party is not aware of any coalition going on.
He insisted that the LP has no plan to accommodate other political parties.
According to him, “we are contesting the election on solo and we have said before that there would be no automatic ticket for anybody.
“If Peter Obi chooses to contest via the party, he will follow due processes right from the primary election. We have said earlier that there will be no automatic ticket for anybody.”
On Obi deputizing Atiku, Yunusa Tanko, the National Coordinator of Obidient Movement, told DAILY POST that Obi is yet to decide.
“What I know is that Peter Obi has not told anybody that he is going to be a vice presidential candidate. He stands to contest as a presidential candidate.
“What we are having now is politicians who have a common interest coming together to plan ahead of the 2027 election”, he concluded.
