Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party’s Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) have reached an agreement to unite under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, Bloomberg reports.
The deal, which concludes months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, was finalised on Tuesday, according to three sources familiar with the discussions. The sources requested anonymity, as the alliance has not yet been publicly announced.
The ADC, a minor political party whose candidate secured just 82,000 votes in the 2023 election, is expected to serve as the coalition’s platform for the 2027 race.
However, the coalition still faces a significant hurdle: deciding who will lead the ticket. Atiku, a northerner, faces resistance due to Nigeria’s informal power-sharing norm that rotates the presidency between the north and south. His 2023 bid was undermined by a strong showing from Obi, a southerner who captured much of the youth vote.
Obi has previously ruled out being a running mate in any alliance with Atiku, a position he took in 2019, and may risk alienating his base if he changes course.
