Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president, and several prominent members of the Peoples Democratic Party met behind closed doors in Abuja on Monday with Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate.
Additionally, prior to the general elections of 2027, Obi held separate meetings with former Senate President Bukola Saraki and Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido. This development raised rumors of a possible coalition alliance.
Obi was a member of the PDP until 2022, when he defected to the Labour Party to pursue his presidential ambitions.
He came in third behind Atiku in the February 23 presidential election, which was won by Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress.
Atiku blamed Obi’s defection from the PDP for his loss to Tinubu.
Pundits argued that Atiku’s 6,984,520 votes and Obi’s 6,101,533 votes would have secured victory against Tinubu, who garnered 8,794,726 votes.
In 2019, both Atiku and Obi ran on the PDP joint ticket but were defeated by former President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.
But due to internal conflicts, Obi, who served as Atiku’s running mate in 2019, left the PDP and contested the 2023 presidential election as the candidate of the Labour Party.
Speaking with one of our correspondents on Monday, Atiku’s media adviser, Paul Ibe, suggested the potential for a coalition ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The aide also confirmed that Obi’s meeting with Atiku lasted approximately 20 minutes.
He stated, “Yes, Peter Obi visited Atiku Abubakar. They met for about 20 minutes behind closed doors, so we wouldn’t know what was said, and they didn’t disclose anything to us.
