A coalition of civil society groups has urged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi to forge an alliance or risk handing President Bola Tinubu a second term “on a platter of gold.”
The groups, including the Save Democracy Mega Alliance (SDMA) and the Civil Societies Alliance, made the call at a meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.
In a communiqué issued after the gathering, South-South Coordinator of SDMA, Tony Akeni, warned that only a united opposition could mount a serious challenge in 2027.
“If the right decisions are taken by stakeholders of opposition political parties and electorates, we shall achieve the urgent objective of emancipating our country through the ballot in 2027,” Akeni said. “But if leaders of the progressive opposition miss presidential victory through wrong decisions, the consequences shall be dire for our nation.”
Akeni described Atiku, now of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Obi of the Labour Party as “two outstanding opposition figures, each eminently qualified” to lead the country. However, he argued that intelligence gathered by the coalition showed both men would face “insurmountable obstacles” if they ran separately.
He further alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was already laying the groundwork to frustrate a free and fair contest, measures he said would only succeed if Atiku and Obi “make the fatal, historically regrettable and irredeemable mistake of contesting the 2027 presidential election on the platforms of two separate or competing political parties.”
