Hopes of a single opposition presidential candidate for next year’s election suffered a setback on Sunday, DECENCY GLOBAL NEWS reports.
Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) vice-presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso declared that Peter Obi would not withdraw from the race in favour of his African Democratic Congress (ADC) counterpart, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
“Let me state clearly and unequivocally: we will not withdraw our candidature for the ADC or any other party.
“We remain confident in our capacity, competence, and readiness to lead Nigeria.
“The OK ticket is neither working for nor acting on behalf of the APC or any of its candidates.
“We see no possibility or reason to withdraw from the presidential race in favour of the ADC candidate or any other.
“These claims are unfounded and should be treated as such,” Kwankwaso said in a post on his X handle.
The former Kano State governor also denied claims by the ADC that he and Obi were planning to withdraw from the race and form an alliance with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), describing the allegations as blackmail.
Obi and Atiku were running mates on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 presidential election but parted ways ahead of the 2023 poll.
While Atiku retained the PDP ticket, Obi contested on the platform of the Labour Party (LP). Both lost to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Ahead of the 2027 election, the two opposition leaders had been involved in talks aimed at forging a coalition to challenge Tinubu.
After Atiku defected from the PDP to the ADC, Obi and his supporters also moved to the party.
However, Obi later defected to the NDC, where he teamed up with Kwankwaso as the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates, respectively.
Since then, efforts have been made to persuade the two opposition leaders to work together and present a single candidate against Tinubu.
The latest initiative was led by the G-100, a group convened by former Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Salihu Lukman.
Lukman said in recent interviews that the scope of discussions among opposition parties had expanded beyond the ADC and NDC to include four other parties.
He said the group hoped to build a broad alliance ahead of the January 16, 2027, presidential election.
“The G-100 would come out and tell Nigerians this is the direction, and everybody will queue,” Lukman said, adding that efforts were underway to bring more parties into the alliance.
However, disagreements between the ADC and NDC have complicated the coalition efforts, with both Atiku and Obi reluctant to step aside for the other.
In his statement, Kwankwaso condemned what he described as unnecessary attacks by the ADC Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) on him, Obi and the NDC.
He accused the ADC campaign team of trying to portray the NDC ticket as working for the APC or planning to withdraw from the race in favour of Atiku at the last minute.
Kwankwaso said the NDC was focused on presenting its candidates’ competence, credibility, capacity and records of achievement to Nigerians rather than attacking political opponents.
He urged the ADC-PCC to address allegations levelled against Atiku by Vice-President Kashim Shettima instead of targeting the NDC leadership.
The former governor said the NDC was aware of attempts to mislead its supporters with claims that Obi would step down for the ADC candidate.
He insisted that the NDC ticket was neither working for nor acting on behalf of the APC or any of its candidates.
Kwankwaso criticised both the APC-led government and the ADC, arguing that neither had offered the alternative Nigerians needed.
He described the NDC ticket as a credible option with support across Northern and Southern Nigeria, pledging to address insecurity, education, agriculture, infrastructure, healthcare and economic challenges.
He also described the NDC as a formidable opposition party and urged Nigerians to support its candidates.
Cracks in the opposition
The rift deepened as the ADC accused Kwankwaso of aligning with the APC through his criticisms of Atiku.
The ADC said that instead of holding Tinubu’s administration accountable, the NDC vice-presidential candidate had repeatedly attacked the opposition party.
ADC-PCC Director of Media and Publicity Kola Ologbondiyan dismissed Kwankwaso’s response as diversionary, arguing that his attacks on Atiku raised questions about his political alignment.
“Why is Senator Kwankwaso making our candidate the issue instead of confronting the ruling APC?” Ologbondiyan asked.
He said opposition leaders should focus on holding the ruling party accountable for the country’s challenges.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the ADC cannot and will not be distracted by Senator Kwankwaso,” he added.
Ologbondiyan alleged that Kwankwaso was attacking the ADC to curry favour with the ruling party.
He said the ADC would remain focused on mobilising Nigerians around its promise to provide an alternative to the Tinubu administration.
