POLITICS: I’LL SUPPORT OBI IN 2027 IF... ATIKU, NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT — EX-APC CHAIRMAN

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has said that if in 2027, the party decides that it is the South-East’s turn and selects Peter Obi as its candidate, he will readily offer his support.

“I have said repeatedly and I even said it before the 2023 general elections that if the PDP decides to zone the presidential ticket to the South or South-East specifically, I won’t contest it. As long as it’s the decision of the party, I will abide by it. But I contested the 2023 presidential ticket because it was thrown open to all members of the party.

“If the party decides that it’s the turn of the South-East and Peter Obi is chosen, I won’t hesitate to support him,” Atiku declared in a recent interview with BBC Hausa Service.

He added that a merger between the PDP and Labour Party is possible.

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has said that if in 2027, the party decides that it is the South-East’s turn and selects Peter Obi as its candidate, he will readily offer his support.

“I have said repeatedly and I even said it before the 2023 general elections that if the PDP decides to zone the presidential ticket to the South or South-East specifically, I won’t contest it. As long as it’s the decision of the party, I will abide by it. But I contested the 2023 presidential ticket because it was thrown open to all members of the party.

“If the party decides that it’s the turn of the South-East and Peter Obi is chosen, I won’t hesitate to support him,” Atiku declared in a recent interview with BBC Hausa Service.

He added that a merger between the PDP and Labour Party is possible.

On whether this will bring about a merger, he said, “Yes, it’s very much possible. We can merge to achieve a common goal. So, it’s possible, and nothing can stop it if we wish to achieve that.”

The former Vice President, who denied that the choice of presidential candidate might frustrate the merger discussion, said, “That’s not true. That challenge will not arise. I can tell you that the choice of who will fly the flag of the party won’t be an issue.”

On why he’s still in active politics, Atiku said, “Yes, we can’t keep quiet and watch things go wrong. People are suffering and we are committed to making Nigeria a better place.”

Asked why he is not tired of politics of Nigeria? He said “Not at all. I am still in active politics in Nigeria, at least, as long as God permits.”

“My age doesn’t stop the young ones from testing their fate. Everybody, irrespective of age, is allowed to aspire to be anybody in the society, politically or otherwise.”

Regarding his 2027 Presidential ambition, the former Vice President said “That would depend on the decision of my party. I can’t make any categorical statement on that. It’s the duty of the party to decide on the way to go in the next election.

In 2019, Atiku and Obi ran together on the PDP ticket but were defeated by former President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.

However, due to internal conflicts, Obi, who was Atiku’s running mate in 2019, left the PDP and ran as the Labour Party’s candidate in the 2023 presidential election

The media was awash with viral photographs of Obi’s closed-door meeting with three chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party on Monday.

They include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, erstwhile Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, and former Senate President, Bukola Saraki,

This is the former Anambra State governor’s first engagement with his former political allies after he defected from the PDP to LP in May 2022.

The renewed moves for an alliance or merger between the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi, have raised concerns among some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 electioneering circle.

Though both of them could not unseat then President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election with their 11,262,978 votes after the former president polled 15,191,847 votes, their combined vote of 13,086,053 in the 2023 election was more than the winning vote of Bola Tinubu of the APC, who got 8,794,726 votes.

The recent development perhaps informed the position of political analysts and politicians across divides that should the talks of alliance or merger being pushed by Atiku and the Professor Pat Utomi-led National Consultative Front (NCFront) materialise before the 2027 presidential election, with Obi on board, the APC may have a stronger challenge to surmount.

Several chieftains of the APC, who spoke about the latest moves involving Atiku and Obi, said the alliance talks and moves had been sending shivers down the spines of most of them, especially in view of the precarious state of the economy which had further pushed more Nigerians into the poverty zone.

“Let me tell you the truth; within the party hierarchy, this alliance is being talked about all the time, and the hope is for it to collapse like a domino before it even gets serious traction,” said a party chieftain from one of the North West states who is close to the national leadership of the APC.

He said the problem the country had found itself in with some of the policies of the government had pushed more people away from the ruling party, hence that it would be disastrous if the masses saw an Atiku/Obi alliance as a viable alternative in 2027.

“Beyond the economic realities, you know some of our leaders, especially in the North, are not happy with the president. With the exception of the NSA (Nuhu Ribadu), it’s difficult to find anyone among the top Northerners close to Mr President who doesn’t have reservations.

However,  a former acting National Chairman of the APC, Hilliard Eta,said  Saturday in an interview that there was nothing new about Obi, Atiku and others meeting to cook a political meal, saying it was not a threat to the APC.

He said, “APC welcomes the virile, responsive and responsible opposition if, by coming together, they will be able to provide that; that will be fantastic.

“When Buhari and Tinubu joined forces in 2013, they were from different political platforms and political enclaves, and they came together. This one is not exactly like the one we had in 2013. So, it is not a threat to the APC.”

He said there was no vacancy for the office of president in 2027, but insisted that by 2031 power must shift to the South East.

Similarly, a professor of political sociology at the University of Abuja, Abubakar Kari, told Daily Trust Saturday that if the internal crises in the parties involved were resolved and a strong force was formed, it would give the APC a big fight.

He, however, said the big fight would depend on the political dynamics before the 2027 elections.

He said, “I don’t think we are going to remain like this. Yes, Tinubu has not lived up to expectations, but he has spent just a year. He may change. He may perform in the next two and a half years and the story will change.”