₦airaland Forum

Nigeria: Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar consider political merger.
Together again? Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi contested the Nigerian elections on a joint ticket in 2019, when they lost to Muhammadu Buhari.

After their political parties suffered a string of defeats to President Bola Tinubu’s APC in four consecutive governorship elections in a year, Nigeria’s main opposition figures – Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi – are discussing adopting a new political party.
Sources tell The Africa Report that Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s ex-presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi, leader of the Labour Party, met recently where they discussed sensitive plans to adopt a new political party.

Insiders say this is in preparation for the 2027 presidential election, as the crises in their respective political parties show no signs of abating.

While Obi and his team did not respond to inquiries, a spokesperson for Atiku tells The Africa Report that the option of a merger remains on the table but did not provide specific details.

Show of political camaraderie
Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, has been invited by the former vice president to be the keynote speaker at an event to commemorate Atiku’s 78th birthday. Known as Founder’s Day, the event will take place at the Atiku-owned Abubakar University (AAU) in Yola, northeast Nigeria on 30 November.

The programme is organised to show the camaraderie between the men and send a message to the Tinubu administration that their bond remains strong.

Since their loss to President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election, Atiku and Obi have been comparing notes on the way forward and a possible merger.

However, the consolidation of the PDP and the Labour Party may be unfeasible due to the prolonged crises, which their supporters accuse Tinubu of sponsoring. PDP is led by Umar Damagum, a loyalist of Nyesom Wike, who currently serves in Tinubu’s cabinet.
The Labour Party national chairman is Julius Abure, who is at loggerheads with Obi.

With election season expected to commence in just 13 months, discussions between Obi and Atiku are said to have entered an advanced stage and include other politicians dissatisfied with Tinubu’s style of governance.
Former governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, who was unceremoniously dropped from Tinubu’s cabinet picks due to a security report is said to be part of the discussions.

Former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, who accused Tinubu of trying to colonise northern Nigeria, has been carried along in the discussions but has made no commitments so far, says a PDP spokesperson who wished to remain anonymous.

United, the opposition would be stronger
Obi and Atiku contested on a joint presidential ticket in 2019 on the PDP platform but lost to former president Muhammadu Buhari of the APC. Ahead of the 2023 election, Obi defected to the Labour Party and contested for the presidency, garnering 6.1 million votes with minimal resources and no help from the political establishment.

Atiku bagged 6.8 million votes, while Kwankwaso got just over a million. Tinubu, who was the eventual winner, polled 8.4 million votes.

Public affairs commentators and even Tinubu’s campaign agreed that had the opposition been united against the APC, Tinubu would not have won the 2023 election, especially because of the mismanagement of the economy by the Buhari administration. This has given the opposition the impetus to seek a merger in the next election.

Atiku and Obi began mending fences after the election and discussed strategy while challenging Tinubu’s victory in court last year. Having lost the legal battle, they strengthened ties and have remained in touch.

Hurdles ahead for a new party
The strategy of adopting an existing political party as a special-purpose vehicle is not new.
Obi and Kwankwaso adopted the Labour Party and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), respectively, just months before the previous elections.

Ahead of the local council election in Rivers State in October, Governor Sim Fubara was boxed into a corner after his party, the PDP, and the main opposition APC became willing tools in the hands of his estranged godfather, former governor Wike. Fubara subsequently adopted the Action People’s Party (APP) – an obscure party – and sponsored candidates.

The APP won all 23 council seats in that election. Similarly, in Abia State, Governor Alex Otti, who is enmeshed in a feud with the Labour Party, refused to support them. Instead, he supported the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) which went on to win 15 of the 17 council seats in the November election.

With the PDP and the Labour Party entangled in a prolonged legal battle, which is unlikely to be resolved before election season, adopting a new party for a fresh start seems a viable option for Atiku and Obi who have become outsiders in their respective parties.

However, the challenge will also be how to bring on board the 12 PDP governors, some of whom are nursing presidential ambitions or are loyal to Wike.

“Can Atiku bring in governors and lawmakers into this planned new political party? You cannot win without having such lieutenants,” says Jide Ojo, a political scientist in Nigeria.

Merging support from North to South
Atiku is one of the few northerners with a realistic pathway to the presidency. Even so, he does not have a strong following in the region like Buhari had, meaning that Tinubu could get a sizeable number of votes up north.

It will depend on the key actors and their willingness to put collective interest over their individual ambitions

The former vice president will thus need a strong southern running mate who can procure large numbers of votes for him in the southeast and the Niger Delta, and this is where Obi comes in handy.

Obi has an army of supporters known as ‘Obidients’ who have loyalty only to him. This could prove significant if he becomes Atiku’s running mate.

Analysts are divided over the possibility of Obi getting the same number of votes he got back in 2023 if he is a running mate. His millions of followers see him as presidential material and are unlikely to accept the vice presidency.

“The Southeast wants to produce the president and not the vice president. From what I see, they will not come out in their numbers to vote for Obi as VP,” Ojo says.

An associate of Atiku told The Africa Report earlier in the year that the former vice president would be willing to serve one term as president and then hand over to Obi as his successor.

“The success or otherwise of any proposed merger will depend on the key actors and their willingness to put collective interest over their individual ambitions,” says Tomide Akinribido, a former lawmaker.

Good for them, they should keep merging.

This is the real deal. They will be able to make real political capital in the north with Atiku leading them and in the south with Peter leading them in the south.

God bless Nigeria for ever!

Any merger that has Atiku on the Ticket will fail, he better stops running and start acting like an Elder statesman. He'll be 81 by 2027, it's better he puts his weight behind someone younger rather than continue disgracing himself, he lost his shot at the president in 2015.

If they do, then the only chance for tinubu is massive rigging and Nigeria will not take it come 2027.

No one will go to court by 2027. So they should get prepared for the consequencies that will follow the manipulation of results.

Atiku and Obi should just form a WhatsApp group and save us the stress of hearing about their plans.

tundegan:
Atiku and Obi should just form a WhatsApp group and save us the stress of hearing about their plans.

No one will go to court come 2027

Take note of that

Everything will be settled either in peace or the other language.

Do all the rigging in SW and stay clear from other regions.

Alliance of Perpetual Losers(APL)


Motto : Wailing and throwing tantrums

Bendeco02:
If they do, then the only chance for tinubu is massive rigging and Nigeria will not take it come 2027.

No one will go to court by 2027. So they should get prepared for the consequencies that will follow the manipulation of results.

Chest beater Buhari defeated those two clowns with the help of PBAT. BAT will decimate them and send them to political oblivion if they merge or not.

EmperorCaesar:


Alliance of Perpetual Losers(APL)


Motto : Wailing and throwing tantrums

No majority to hide under this time.

As e dey hot for SS/SE, North go dey show you shege up there.

No run when the time reach

When I posted here awhile ago that Atiku doesn't stand a chance securing the PDP presidential ticket in 2027 some idiots were insulting their father.

Well, Atiku can not merge PDP with LP because Atiku has no control of the PDP and even the LP isn't Obi's property.

The duo will have to build a party from scratch and this is what I don't see two of them achieving because neither has the character to build a political party from the ground up but have been wandering opportunists in their political career.

The merger being floated here is that both Atiku and Obi will seek an obscure political party to hijack.

That translates to leaving PDP open as another major political bloc .

It's a confirmed third place move because PDP will give their ticket to a northern candidate like Bala Muhammed or Tambuwal who will disrupt the northern votes.

Strictlygreen:
Chest beater Buhari defeated those two clowns with the help of PBAT. BAT will decimate them and send them to political oblivion if they merge or not.

As you have low IQ

Buhari is a northerner

Northerners were divided then, NC supported Atiku While NW/NE supported Buhari.

For tinubu case which Northern Masses will ever come out to defend Tinubu?

Don't worry, we will be alive come 2027

Even your new friend wike will not put body for rivers. He will stay in Abuja and witness as tinubu will lose FCT

Edygrin:
Any merger that has Atiku on the Ticket will fail, he better stops running and start acting like an Elder statesman. He'll be 81 by 2027, it's better he puts his weight behind someone younger rather than continue disgracing himself, he lost his shot at the president in 2015.

That's a very big lie n u know it

Atiku just has to promise to do one term openly that's all

Bendeco02:
No majority to hide under this time.

As e dey hot for SS/SE, North go dey show you shege up there.

No run when the time reach

I have warned you guys to respect the dichotomy of SS and SE.

Do not in your life ever place the two regions as inseperable.

Bendeco02:
No one will go to court come 2027

Take note of that

Everything will be settled either in peace or the other language.

Do all the rigging in SW and stay clear from other regions.

According to the supreme Court.. Accord yourself as much voted as u can in your strong point as long as it's not more than registered voters it's legal

It can get 10x accredited voters no one cares

DomPerignon:
I have warned you guys to respect the dichotomy of SS and SE.

Do not in your life ever place the two regions as inseperable.

Not only SS/SE

The election will be NW/NE/NC/SS/SE Vs APC

The reality will hit you soon

Wetin be the meaning of this long epistle?

Are they merged already?

See useless talk Buhari defeated Atiku/Obi with help of Tinubu a very reckless statement. If obi and Atiku form alliance consider Tinubu a goner.

Strictlygreen:
Chest beater Buhari defeated those two clowns with the help of PBAT. BAT will decimate them and send them to political oblivion if they merge or not.

BuhariAdvocate:
See useless talk Buhari defeated Atiku/Obi with help of Tinubu a very reckless statement. If obi and Atiku form alliance consider Tinubu a goner.

Alliance in a fresh party. PDP will field a candidate LP too. Then votes be divided between 3 parties meanwhile APC would have shored up. Stop playing.

Strictlygreen:
Alliance in a fresh party. PDP will field a candidate LP too. Then votes be divided between 3 parties meanwhile APC would have shored up. Stop playing.

Your wish

Even Kwakwanso that we never know his stand just signal that he can merge with any party but APC via his last statements.

We will see how the results will be written in 2027

Bendeco02:
If they do, then the only chance for tinubu is massive rigging and Nigeria will not take it come 2027.

No one will go to court by 2027. So they should get prepared for the consequencies that will follow the manipulation of results.

atiku will b 81 by then

All the best to them

Bendeco02:
If they do, then the only chance for tinubu is massive rigging and Nigeria will not take it come 2027.

No one will go to court by 2027. So they should get prepared for the consequencies that will follow the manipulation of results.

Nothing you can do more than Jubril this Jubril that online

helinues:
Nothing you can do more than Jubril this Jubril that online

Keep living in the past

No too much talk. 2027 is not far again

Na jubril people will even savage you

You won't hide under majority this time

You're on ur own

Bendeco02:
As you have low IQ

Buhari is a northerner

Northerners were divided then, NC supported Atiku While NW/NE supported Buhari.

For tinubu case which Northern Masses will ever come out to defend Tinubu?

Don't worry, we will be alive come 2027

Even your new friend wike will not put body for rivers. He will stay in Abuja and witness as tinubu will lose FCT

it's obvious u don't know anything about politics, no wonder all your permutations have always been wrong

Those major northern power brokers will prefer tinubu finishes his turn so they can take over for another 8 years than for atiku to take over n jeopardize their chance of ever becoming d president

Many of u analyse politics with emotion, it's calculation. Same way tinubu helped Buhari n took it from him is the same way d northerners who help tinubu are waiting to take it from him once he finishes 2nd term

If tinubu 2nd term is cut short that means they will b irrelevant in politics cos atiku will never welcome them

U are a baby in politics

Bendeco02:
If they do, then the only chance for tinubu is massive rigging and Nigeria will not take it come 2027.

No one will go to court by 2027. So they should get prepared for the consequencies that will follow the manipulation of results.

If they create and contest under a new political party, the election will only become easier for Tinubu.

Bendeco02:
Not only SS/SE

The election will be NW/NE/NC/SS/SE Vs APC

The reality will hit you soon

so wike, akpabio, oshiomole n co in south south will not support tinubu right?

Only south east is cut off from reality n they will cry hard again

North will follow tinubu to complete his 8 years so they can take over

Factcheck0001:
it's obvious u don't know anything about politics, no wonder all your permutations have always been wrong

Those major northern power brokers will prefer tinubu finishes his turn so they can take over for another 8 years than for atiku to take over n jeopardize their chance of ever becoming d president

Many of u analyse politics with emotion, it's calculation. Same way tinubu helped Buhari n took it from him is the same way d northerners who help tinubu are waiting to take it from him once he finishes 2nd term

If tinubu 2nd term is cut short that means they will b irrelevant in politics cos atiku will never welcome them

U are a baby in politics

Oga calm down.

I know politics pass your family people combine

If Tinubu finishes, APC will likely hand over to Shettima and he is a Kanuri man (minority). Even Borno voted for atiku against him as tinubu VP on last election

A it stands now, north don't care where the presidency goes again instead they see tinubu as a man that has negative agenda for them. And their plan is to stop him as soon as possible (2027)

Bendeco02:
Your wish

Even Kwakwanso that we never know his stand just signal that he can merge with any party but APC via his last statements.

We will see how the results will be written in 2027

the same kwankwanso who met with tinubu?

Omo u are just a novice, just keep thinking this way so APC can have their way easily

Bendeco02:
Oga calm down.

I know politics pass your family people combine

If Tinubu finishes, APC will likely hand over to Shettima and he is a Kanuri man (minority). Even Borno voted for Atiku against him as tinubu VP on last election

Even as it stands, north don't care where it goes again instead they see tinubu as a man that has negative agenda for them. And their plan is to stop him as soon as possible (2027)

which north sees tinubu as negative agenda?

The masses or the power hungry big men?

Just tell me so I can know what to reply u with

Factcheck0001:
which north sees tinubu as negative agenda?

The masses or the power hungry big men?

Just tell me so I can know what to reply u with

The masses and some elites included.

Stop pretending

You heard kwakwanso's statement when he visited Kano