A spokesman for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) announced today that the three leading opposition figures in Nigeria are considering a merger to address the widespread hunger and insecurity in the country ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The PDP Deputy National Spokesman Ibrahim Abdullahi shared this information during an interview. He mentioned that the three opposition candidates from the last election—Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP)—are working on setting aside personal interests to form a strong alliance to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.
Abdullahi stated that if the PDP had better managed internal conflicts in the past, prominent figures like former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, Kwankwaso, and Obi would still be active members of the PDP, and the party might have defeated Bola Tinubu of the APC in the previous election.
He said, “We’ve lost Kwankwaso, we’ve lost Peter Obi; if they were still with the party, we would have won the election. The APC claimed victory by just over a million votes; any one of these leaders could have bridged that gap for us, and today, Nigerians would not be facing such despair and despondency.”
When asked about efforts to bring Obi, Kwankwaso, Wike, and others back to the PDP, Abdullahi confirmed that discussions are ongoing, with meetings already taking place between key figures like Atiku and Obi.
He expressed optimism, saying, “We are confident there will be light at the end of the tunnel. We have learned our lessons the hard way.”
In the 2023 presidential election, Bola Tinubu secured victory in 12 states and received 8,794,726 votes, almost two million more than his closest competitor, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, who garnered 6,984,520 votes. Peter Obi, in his first presidential run, had an unprecedented 6,101,533 votes, while Rabiu Kwankwaso, who won in his home state of Kano, received 1,496,687 votes.
Interestingly, Obi and Kwankwaso were PDP members just months before the last election but left the party due to irreconcilable differences.
When asked what would happen if Obi and others rejoined the PDP, Abdullahi suggested that one of them would step aside for the other, allowing the party to move forward with a clear direction. He emphasized that the priority for the PDP and its leaders is to rescue Nigerians from the current challenges, rather than focusing on individual ambitions.
Abdullahi said, “Atiku has stated that if it is in the best interest of Nigeria for him to step aside, he will do so. He recognizes his democratic right to run, but he is not insisting on it. Peter Obi is equally qualified, and if he secures the ticket, we will support him. The same goes for Atiku. The goal is to unite behind whoever can best lead Nigeria out of this difficult situation.”
