2027: PDP Faction Plans Talks With Atiku, Obi to Build United Opposition

In a bid to mount a strong challenge against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections, a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has disclosed plans to hold high-level consultations with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi.

The PDP South-South Chairman, Mr. Emmanuel Ogidi, said the move is aimed at restoring the party’s national relevance and strengthening opposition unity ahead of the next polls.

Atiku was the PDP’s presidential candidate in 2019 and 2023, with Obi as his running mate in 2019, and also served as vice president on the PDP platform between 1999 and 2007. Both politicians have since joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Speaking on a Channels Television programme, Ogidi said consultations with key national figures were ongoing.

“We’re doing the rounds. We have already seen a former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, and another former president, IBB. It’s all about seeing those who are important in Nigeria to tell them that we are alive and we’re moving. I know you’re going to ask me about Obi. 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. You see, PDP is the real face of democracy in Nigeria,” he said.

Ogidi’s remarks, however, drew swift reactions from the Obidient Movement and the ADC, both of which questioned the feasibility of wooing Obi and Atiku back to the PDP.

While the Obidient Movement argued that the PDP’s internal crisis makes it unattractive to Obi, the ADC wondered how the party intended to court leaders who had already exited the PDP and publicly declared the ADC as the preferred platform for opposition collaboration.

Earlier in the week, members of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), led by National Chairman Tanimu Turaki, met with former President Goodluck Jonathan at his Maitama office in Abuja.

Turaki told journalists:

“We have his assurance that he remains an active, card-carrying member of the PDP and feels obliged to support the party; the PDP has done enough for him, and he will try his best to do more for the party.”

He described Jonathan’s comments as “very reassuring and encouraging” as the party prepares for off-season elections in Ekiti and Osun states, as well as the 2027 general elections.

Sources familiar with the talks confirmed that consultations were ongoing.

“Consultations are going on. Sooner or later, the details will begin to emerge… I can assure you that the consultations will yield concrete results,” one source said.

ADC insists it is the way forward

Reacting to the PDP’s moves, Mazi Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to Atiku Abubakar, said the ADC remains open to working with other opposition forces but maintained that it is the most viable platform going forward.

“The coalition party is willing to expand its course and partner with those who are focused on rescuing Nigeria from the real malaise of the rule of Tinubu and the APC… ADC is the way forward,” he said.

Similarly, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, questioned the PDP’s overtures.

“Wooing which Atiku? Which Obi? Is it Obi, who joined ADC a few days ago? Wooing them to where?” he asked, citing the PDP’s leadership crisis and factional disputes.

He added that while the ADC is open to alliances, any cooperation would be based on a shared goal of defeating the APC.

“Democracy is a game of numbers. We welcome anybody who is ready to work with us to rescue Nigeria from the APC.”

Obidient Movement rejects PDP outreach

The Obidient Movement also dismissed PDP’s attempt to reach Obi, saying the party’s unresolved internal crisis weakens any such effort.

Speaking to Vanguard in Abuja, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, National Coordinator of the movement, said:

“Well, they are making overtures to him, but the problem is that the party has issues at the moment now.

“So if you say you are making an overture, for him to go back to where? Where there are problems? Those are the issues.”

The PDP, which governed Nigeria from 1999 to 2015, has remained embroiled in internal turmoil since losing the 2023 elections, with two factions currently laying claim to the party’s national leadership following its controversial convention in Ibadan, Oyo State.

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