Former Anambra State governor and presidential candidate for the Nigerian Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has denied avoiding former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Obi made the statements on Friday in Cape Town, South Africa, while attending the Spier Dialogue 2026, a pan-African governance forum.
“There are very few human beings who are as close as I am to Atiku. So I can’t be running from him. This man is my very respected leader and elder brother.
“I don’t run from him. Never. It has nothing to do with running from anybody. I’ve never run from anybody. I just believe that I do things differently,” he said.
His remarks come against the backdrop of a bruising few months in their political relationship.
Both individuals had formed the African Democratic Congress as a coalition platform to fight President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
Obi formally joined the ADC on January 1, 2026, and Atiku welcomed him, calling the event a watershed point in Nigerian political coalition formation.
The union, however, did not last. On his way out, Obi stated that his departure was motivated by unsolved internal problems and ongoing legal disputes that had diverted the party’s attention away from national issues, rather than personal differences with Atiku or party chairman David Mark.
He and Kwankwaso then defected to the Nigerian Democratic Congress, calling for a stop to litigation-driven politics.
