As the move to form a coalition to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027 intensifies, the ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and zoning dispute are stalling negotiations among political leaders.
A reliable source involved in the coalition discussions revealed that the camps of 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi; and former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, were demanding that power should stay in the South for eight years.
The source revealed that the delay in negotiations was due to uncertainty surrounding whether Atiku would run.
According to him, the participants in the coalition drive, particularly from the South, were hesitant to fully engage in the discussions to avoid jeopardising their ambitions and zones.
On Thursday, the 2023 presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku; Labour Party’s Obi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, announced the formation of a coalition to oust President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
There had been a growing debate about whether opposition parties should unite to challenge President Tinubu’s administration. The discussion later gained momentum, as various political figures expressed differing views.
Atiku had consistently emphasised the need for unity among opposition parties.
In his comments on March 8, 2025 he revealed that he was actively working to unite opposition groups to form a coalition to remove the APC from power.
Following El-Rufai’s shift from the APC to the Social Democratic Party on March 10, discussions among opposition leaders gained momentum.
Atiku, along with other opposition figures, declared that the last Thursday gathering marked the official beginning of the coalition.
He said, “Yes, this is the birth of the coalition of opposition ahead of 2027.
Other opposition leaders present at the press conference included a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; the National Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties, Peter Ahmeh; and the Convenor of the Alternative, Segun Showunmi, among others.
Among those involved in the coalition, but whose apologies for absence were noted, were leaders from the ruling APC, including former governors Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); and the immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Adamu, among others.
