As the battle for the 2027 presidential election draws closer, the political camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s in the African Democratic Party (ADC) has beamed its searchlight for a politician from the southern part of the country as Atiku’s running mate.
According to a statement sighted by Sunday Telegraph, Atiku’s supporters are said to be eyeing the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, as a top choice for the position.
But should Obi decline to run as the 2023 Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku would look in the direction of a former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi.
However, a political ally of Atiku, Mr Dele Momodu, urged Obi to join forces with Atiku to unseat President Bola Tinubu.
Momodu described Atiku and Obi as the strongest potential alliance capable of ending the hold of the All Progressives Congress on power.
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It would be recalled that both men ran on a joint PDP ticket in the 2019 election but lost to then-incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. In 2023, they ran separately—Atiku on the PDP platform and Obi on the LP structure, but lost to Tinubu.
With Atiku now registered as a member of the ADC and Obi still in LP, Momodu believes the two must close ranks ahead of 2027.
Momodu blamed the reluctance of both men to agree to work together on Obi’s supporters.
“That is why they are trying to make every party have only southern candidates. They don’t want any strong opposition from the opposite direction (North). There is no way any Southern candidate can defeat Tinubu.
“I have said this to Peter Obi. We have met several times at my houses in Lagos and Ghana. If Peter Obi does not take advantage of a ready-made union between him and Atiku, it would be very unfortunate. It would be as good as working for Tinubu to come back,” he added.
Warning that delay could cost Obi a major political opportunity, Momodu said Atiku may settle for Amaechi as his running mate.
“A lot of people are underrating Amaechi. Amaechi single-handedly handed power to Buhari. What the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, is doing now, though in an unruly manner, Amaechi did quite well when he was governor of Rivers State. Amaechi mobilised more than any other person for Buhari, even more than Tinubu. If Obi does not make up his mind or chooses to run alone, then I believe the mantle might fall on Rotimi Amaechi.”
On efforts to reconcile both men politically, Momodu said, “I have told Obi. There is no time.
“The person you want to dislodge is already a President. He has everything. He is either coercing or cajoling the governors and senators to join him. He wants to present a false alibi that everybody loves him. He knows what he is doing.
“He wants to create a false image of someone who cannot be defeated, so that when they succeed at doing their manipulation, they will say, ‘What did you expect?’
“Despite all their shenanigans in 2023, they lost Lagos to Obi. They lost Osun to Gov Ademola Adeleke. Obi needs to make up his mind. For now, I don’t know his party. PDP is crumbling, LP has crumbled. Where does he want to go?”
