Atiku offers Obi coalition deal under which he will stand down for him after four years

FORMER vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is believed to have presented ex-Anambra State governor Peter Obi with a joint single-term ticket deal that will involve him serving for one four year term and then standing down.

In 2023, Nigeria's presidential election was a three-horse race between President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor Obi of the Labour Party. Eager to dislodge President Tinubu in 2027, Alhaji Abubakar has asked Governor Obi to join forces with him under a deal that will involve him handing over the reins of power after four years.

Apparently, the proposal was initially discussed during a meeting between the two men when they met in London earlier this year. According to several sources, Governor Obi accepted the deal but said that to sign up to it, he needs to secure the backing of his core loyalists.

In Nigeria's 2019 presidential election, Governor Obi served as Atiku’s running mate under the PDP, when they lost to former President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC. It now appears that they have realised they need to pool their resources together if they are to defeat President Tinubu in two years time.

On March 20 this year, Atiku, Governor Obi, former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, and several other political gladiators announced the formation of a coalition to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election. Nearly two months later, Nigerians are still waiting to hear from the political leaders, as both the PDP and Labour Party remain mired in internal political crises.

One source close to the coalition, said: “You know that by this time next year, by May 2026, almost all parties would have unveiled their presidential candidates for the 2027 elections, so, the coalition move is mindful of that. The leaders have all agreed that it’s only a coalition between Atiku, Obi and others that can wrest power from Tinubu, so, they are crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s to finalise this.

“Atiku and Obi met earlier this year in the UK. That was where Atiku first mooted the idea of a coalition and urged Obi to be his running mate. Obi then asked for time to think it over and consult his loyalists.

"Recent developments show that Obi has accepted to be Atiku’s running mate and Atiku has also agreed to serve a single four-year term and hand over to the former Anambra State governor. They have both agreed to sign a written agreement if necessary and Obi is trying to get the buy-in of his loyalists before this is formally announced.”

Paul Ibe, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar's spokesman, said: “I know that His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have been talking about the coalition but I cannot speak on the specific agreement they have reached. All I can tell you is that both of them are focused on ensuring that they build a viable coalition that will be robust enough to accommodate diverse Nigerians to unseat the clueless APC government in 2027.”

However, Diran Odeyemi,  a member of the PDP national executive committee asked Atiku to forget his ambition, saying he is not a modern day Abraham Lincoln. He pointed out that

Lincoln, an American legendary figure, is a byword for political consistency, having contested and failed in his quest for the highest office several times until he clinched it in grand style.