2027: Atiku, Obi Reject Single Opposition Candidate Against Tinubu

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State governor Peter Obi have rejected the idea that opposition parties must produce one presidential candidate to defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.

The positions from the two camps have created another hurdle for efforts to build a broad opposition coalition ahead of the poll.

While Atiku and Obi remain open to greater cooperation among opposition parties, neither camp has indicated a willingness to step aside simply to make way for another candidate.

The development comes as the G-100, a political pressure group led by former Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum, Salihu Lukman, pushes for a united opposition front.

The group believes that opposition parties could lose the 2027 election if they enter the contest separately and split their votes among several presidential candidates.

G-100 has therefore been advocating a common platform and a single presidential candidate capable of challenging Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress.

However, the latest reactions from the camps of Atiku and Obi suggest that cooperation may be easier to achieve than an agreement on who should fly the proposed opposition ticket.

Atiku’s position was made known by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

Shaibu said the former vice president was not opposed to efforts aimed at bringing opposition forces together.

He, however, indicated that the discussions had moved beyond simply organising meetings and summits.

According to him, Atiku had already placed his policy proposals before Nigerians and would allow voters to make their choice when the election arrives.

“We have moved beyond this conversation. Atiku has brought to the table the policy alternatives, including what he would do with petroleum subsidy if elected. His policies are about the people and they are not hidden. Come January 2027, Nigerians will make their choice. This is where we are today,” he said.

Shaibu maintained that Atiku remained prepared to take over the leadership of the country and urged Nigerians to focus on the policies and programmes being offered by the various presidential candidates.

The former vice president secured the presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress after joining the party as part of the opposition realignment ahead of the 2027 election.

His emergence has placed him at the centre of discussions about the proposed opposition coalition.

Atiku contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party and came second behind Tinubu, according to the official election results.

He has since continued to position himself as a major opposition figure ahead of another presidential contest.

Obi’s camp, on the other hand, has also maintained confidence in his political strength.

Obi contested the 2023 election under the Labour Party and finished third in the official results.

He later joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress, where he has emerged as one of the leading figures in the opposition movement.

The NDC has welcomed attempts to strengthen opposition cooperation but does not agree that all opposition parties must unite behind one candidate before Tinubu can be defeated.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, argued that Nigeria’s political history showed that an incumbent president could be defeated even when the opposition was not completely united under one presidential candidate.

“Under a multi-party democracy, it is possible for one of the parties to defeat a sitting president. It happened in 2015 and it was only fragments of the All Progressive Grand Alliance and the Peoples Democratic Party that teamed up to form an alliance with the All Progressives Congress and they were able to defeat President Goodluck Jonathan.

“So, the NDC is not going into the 2027 election with that self-defeatist approach that the opposition cannot defeat the APC unless all the parties come together,” Director said.

Despite rejecting the argument that a single candidate is the only route to victory, the NDC spokesman made the party’s preference clear.

He said the NDC believes Obi should lead the coalition if the opposition eventually decides to adopt a common presidential candidate.

“We have made the point clear that we should choose the best candidate in the opposition and we in the NDC believe that Peter Obi is the best if he is allowed to lead the coalition. This is our position.”