Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai Seal Opposition Deal Ahead Of 2027

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai have reportedly concluded months of negotiations aimed at forging a united opposition front to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the next general election in 2027.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the three opposition heavyweights reached a consensus on Tuesday to consolidate efforts under a single political platform, although the agreement has not been officially announced.

The alliance marks a mending of political fences between the former rivals, whose division before the 2023 presidential election was widely viewed as a major contributor to President Tinubu’s victory. Collectively, Atiku and Obi secured significantly more votes than Tinubu’s 8.7 million, indicating that a united opposition could present a formidable challenge in the 2027 race.

The deal will see them rally under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a lesser-known party, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

The development coincides with a recent remark by the Chairman of ADC’s Board of Trustees, BoT, Mani Ahmed, who said a deal is close.

“I can categorically inform you that the African Democratic Congress is the coalition party in Nigeria. What remains is merely dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s,” he said at a press conference.

Spokespersons for both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party acknowledged their candidates’ involvement in coalition talks but clarified that there are no ongoing discussions to merge the parties themselves. The Social Democratic Party (SDP), with which El-Rufai is a member, did not offer comment.

A major challenge for the new alliance is deciding who will run for president. Nigeria’s informal tradition of rotating power between the North and South complicate things, as Atiku, a northerner, may struggle to gain support from southern voters who strongly backed Obi, a leading figure from the South-East in 2023.