Veteran journalist and publisher, Dele Momodu, on Thursday ruled out the possibility of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar withdrawing from the 2027 presidential race in favour of ex-Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, amid growing speculation of an opposition alliance ahead of the polls.
Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, defected to the African Democratic Congress in November 2025, a move widely seen as a strategy to secure the party’s ticket, while Obi also joined the ADC last week as part of a broader opposition realignment aimed at challenging President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The development fuelled rumours that Atiku might step aside for Obi, especially following comments from ruling All Progressives Congress figures and resistance from key Obi supporters against any vice-presidential arrangement.
Dismissing the speculation in an interview with PUNCH Online in Abuja, Momodu said, “Several people have asked me to advise former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to voluntarily withdraw from the 2027 presidential race. When I ask them why, they say he is too old. Not that they know of any fatality awaiting him. Not that he is less healthy than President Bola Tinubu. Out of unsubstantiated malice and prejudice, Tinubu can and should contest, but Atiku can’t and shouldn’t contest.”
He added that calls for Atiku to step aside were unfair, insisting that “asking our most experienced and cosmopolitan aspirant to sacrifice his credentials on the altar of raw emotion and primordial sentiments is a monumental tragedy,” even as political observers note ongoing behind-the-scenes talks between Atiku, Obi and other opposition figures over the ADC’s presidential ticket ahead of a potentially keenly contested primary.