The Labour Party (LP) has called on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to shelve his presidential ambition and support Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 general election, warning that a divided opposition would hand President Bola Tinubu an easy re-election victory.
Interim National Publicity Secretary of the party, Tony Akeni, made the appeal during an interview on Arise Television on Friday.
He said the call followed a three-day stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, where members of a proposed coalition agreed that Obi remained the only opposition figure capable of uniting Nigerians and defeating the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Akeni stressed that while both Obi and Atiku are respected political figures, only a united front behind Obi offered a realistic chance of removing the APC from power.
“The same understanding that our country has been blessed by an extraordinary individual in the person of Peter Obi is what drives us today,” he said.
“We also have a similar understanding that our country has been blessed by an extraordinary person, the person of His Excellency Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
“Two giants strutting the political space of Nigeria, on the side of the progressive aisle. Looking at the two personalities, their backgrounds, where they’re coming from, and where they have told Nigerians they are heading, we say that it is time to come to the intersection of their individual aspirations and to take a stand. And the steps we have taken are based on research and study.”
The LP spokesman maintained that the priority of the coalition was to prevent a repeat of 2023, where division of opposition weakened their electoral strength.
