To strengthen opposition against the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it will hold high-level consultations with its former presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi.
PDP South-South Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Ogidi, disclosed this during an appearance on Channels Television, noting that the talks are part of broader efforts to restore the party’s national relevance. “We’re doing the rounds… Yes, we also have plans to see Peter Obi. Even Atiku Abubakar, as the former vice president of the country, we are going to meet him… PDP is the real face of democracy in Nigeria,” Ogidi said, adding that party leaders had also consulted former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida.
The proposed consultations have, however, drawn sharp reactions from the Obidient Movement and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), both of which questioned the feasibility of wooing Obi and Atiku, who recently joined the ADC.
While Atiku’s media adviser, Mr Paul Ibe, said the ADC was open to working with other opposition forces, insisting that “ADC is the way forward,” the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, dismissed the PDP’s moves, asking, “Wooing which Atiku? Which Obi?… Wooing them to where?”
Similarly, the Obidient Movement argued that PDP’s internal crisis weakens any attempt to lure Obi back. “So if you say you are making an overture, for him to go back to where? Where there are problems? Those are the issues,” said its National Coordinator, Dr Yunusa Tanko.