2027: Atiku, Obi, Others Settle For Party To Use For Coalition

Ahead of the 2027 elections, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party, respectively, are forming a coalition with former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai and others to challenge President Bola Tinubu. They have decided on the political party they will use for this effort.

According to information available to The Eagle Online, the members of the coalition decided at an all-night meeting between Tuesday and Wednesday.

The meeting, sources told The Eagle Online, was held in Abuja, starting late on Tuesday.

It ended in the early hours of Wednesday.

It was learnt that a former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; a former Governor of Rivers State and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; and a former Governor of Osun State and former Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, were also at the meeting.

READ MORE:

• EFCC Arraigns Alleged Serial Fraudster, Titilayo Eboh, Over N1.8bn Forex Fraud in Lagos 
• How Millions Flowed from Individuals, Firms to Service Loan Linked to Malami’s Son – Witness
• Lagos Man Allegedly Sells Infant Sibling for ₦2m
• President Tinubu Sends 65 Ambassadors To Foreign Missions, UN
• UEFA Imposes €15,000 Fine On Real Madrid After Fan’s Nazi Salute Incident

The well-attended meeting was said to have agreed that the coalition should use the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the vehicle to unseat President Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress in 2027.

On why the coalition settled for the ADC instead of the Social Democratic Party into which some of its prominent members have dissolved, including el-Rufai, a source told The Eagle Online that this was because the rules of the party allowed for easy membership.

Largely considered was said to have been the length of membership for members to be able to stand for elective positions.

The SDP was considered a bit difficult to achieve the plot of the coalition.

“You know virtually all of these people are still in one party or the other, the source said.

“And this is less than two years before the 2027 general election.

“So they are being careful so that no legal entanglement will stop those who are eventually going to fly the flag of the coalition.

“All the parameters were considered before settling for ADC.”

On the seeming crisis over the presidential candidate that the coalition would choose, one of the sources at the meeting told The Eagle Online that the issue has not come up at all.

On if Abubakar, a former vice president, would step down for Obi, the source said the stage at which the talks are was for the coalition to be solidified and that those who now have an interest in seeking elective offices would go through the process.

The source revealed that the focus of the coalition goes beyond the power struggle.

The source said: “Whether Atiku or Peter Obi or el-Rufai, none of them is talking about who the president or vice president will be.

“Their singular focus is to get the APC and Tinubu out of power.

“When the time comes, they all will go through the process put in place by the ADC for the 2027 elections.

“It is not by fiat.

“What people are saying is far from the truth.

“The truth is that no decision has been taken and no candidate can force himself on the coalition as presidential candidate.

“So also has the talk about sharing political offices never come up at any of the meetings of the coalition.

“It is the people out there doing their permutations alongside the individuals within the coalition.

“The talks are ongoing.”