On Sunday night, rumors started to circulate that Peter Obi of Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Kwankwaso of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) were considering joining forces to unseat the All Progressives Congress in 2027.
According to Platinum Times, there had been talks on a possible merger between the Labour Party, PDP, and NNPP for a while. These talks focused on two scenarios.
The first option, according to certain sources, revolves around the decision of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT). Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Peter Obi of the LP, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP are thinking of merging in order to build a powerful front during the rerun, a source said.
The source added that Atiku, Obi, and Kwankwaso, along with other important political players, are considering flaunting a merger in front of the general elections in 2027 should the PEPT decide otherwise.
Before the 2023 Presidential elections, the Peter Obi-led LP and Kwankwaso-led NNP were unable to come to an agreement on a potential merger. As negotiations between the two main parties broke down months before the election, this occurred.
In light of this, Prof. Lai Olurode, a former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has suggested that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) think about joining forces with other political parties in advance of the general elections in 2027.
Olurode claimed that the PDP would only be able to topple the ruling APC if it could unite with other parties. He claimed that by entering the 2023 general elections in a weaker and more fragmented state, the main opposition party lost a significant chance to win back power.
Olurode said opposition parties in the country, led by the PDP, would have succeeded in ousting the APC from power if they had swallowed their pride and worked together to provide Nigerians with the party regime change they had long desired. Olurode was a guest on Bottom Line, a program of New Cruse 92.7 FM, Ikere, which THISDAY monitored yesterday.
The sociology professor observed that the legacy parties that united to form the merger buried their differences and gave up personal goals to accomplish the historically unprecedented feat in 2015, which allowed the APC to depose the PDP.
In an exclusive report that is repeated below, Thisday Newspaper offered more information on the situation:
The trio of Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and Peter Obi have started talking about the possibility of a merger as the nation continues its transition process with the ultimate goal of creating a formidable party that can more effectively challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to reports, the meeting between these three political figures began with the debate between Kwankwaso, the former presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and Atiku, the incumbent president of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), during the most recent presidential election.
The second meeting began to take shape after the other two stakeholders agreed to include Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and the face of the OBIdient Movement, after the first leg of the meetings was deemed successful.
Two pillars had supported the conversations, which were claimed to still be in the early stages.
Insiders claim that the three leaders have made the initial decision, which would define the second leg of the decision should the court’s ruling be unfavorable, to wait and see how the election petitions turn out.
For instance, sources with access to some of the conversations suggested that the leaders had faith that the presidential election tribunal would be “just and fair” enough to find that the election that elected President Bola Tinubu could not pass any reasonable electoral test and, as a result, take the appropriate action.
By doing this, the leaders were reportedly hoping that the tribunal would order a re-election or rerun, allowing them to join forces for the election and face Tinubu and the APC at a later date.
If the tribunal ruled differently, the leaders reportedly considered forming a strong party ahead of the 2027 general election, when they intended to unseat the APC as the party in power.
A source said,
“The meeting started with Kwankwaso and Atiku and they have agreed to bring Peter Obi in to set up a formidable opposition after the court cases. Although they have not got to the point of discussing who will lead the opposition, they are leaving it out for now till after the court cases.
“After the court cases, they will plan and come together for a re-election or stand together ahead to fight the 2027 election battle. They are considering a formidable party comprising the PDP, Labour and NNPP.”