Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and Peter Obi have begun to discuss the possibility of a merger to form a new party to challenge the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to reports, the meeting of these three political leaders began with one between Atiku, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the previous presidential election.
Following the success of the first leg of the meetings, another one between Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and face of the OBIdient Movement, and other crucial elements in the PDP began to take shape after the other two stakeholders decided to invite him in.
The conversations, which were claimed to be in their early stages, were based on two pillars. According to insiders, the three leaders have chosen to wait and see what happens with the election petitions in court, which would define the second leg of the decision if the court judgment is negative.
According to sources privy to some of the discussions, the leaders were hopeful that the presidential election tribunal would be “just and fair” enough to prove that the election that brought President Bola Tinubu to power could not withstand any reasonable electoral scrutiny and, as such, do what was necessary.
The leaders were said to be hoping that the tribunal would order re-election or a rerun, which would allow them to form a coalition for the election and challenge Tinubu and the APC again.
However, in the event the tribunal rules against them, the leaders are thought to be considering forming a new party ahead of the 2027 general election, in which they intend to depose the incumbent APC.
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 gotten to the point of discussing who will lead the opposition, they are leaving it out for now until after the court cases.
“After the court cases, they will plan and come together for re-election or stand together ahead to fight the 2027 election battle. They are considering a formidable party comprising the PDP, Labour, and NNPP.”
