2027: Atiku insists on coalition to challenge APC

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said there is no going back on the formation of a coalition to unseat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.

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Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), maintained that the coalition movement was not just a political strategy but a necessity to challenge the ruling party and rebuild the country.

The former presidential candidate stated this in a statement he posted on his official X account on Wednesday after he met with a delegation of two groups to brief them about the coalition.

“Yesterday, I met with a delegation of two groups, during which I briefed them about the status of the pan-Nigerian coalition that I am building in conjunction with other leaders and stakeholders across political divides and regions. I informed them that the Nigerian Movement is being powered by Nigerians desirous of reclaiming and rebuilding their country from across the nooks and crannies of our country,” he said, in the statement.

Atiku has been rooting for a coalition to challenge the APC in 2027.

The move involves the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, and a former governorship aspirant in Ogun State, Segun Sowunmi.

The former vice president has been reaching out to key political figures across party lines and the coalition team has been holding a series of consultations, including a visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari.

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Atiku also held talks with Tim Smith, the acting chief of the US Mission to Nigeria, where political developments and democratic stability were reportedly discussed.

However, there’s a crack within Atiku’s own party, the PDP. The governors under the of the party’s platform have distanced themselves from the coalition with arguement that it could weaken its unity and electoral strength.

The governors’ opposition to the coalition is being interpreted in some quarters as a direct challenge to Atiku’s political authority within the party.

Despite the challenges, the former vice president still believes that many Nigerians would join the movement.

“Indeed, the Coalition Train has left the station and would have multiple stops to bring on board Nigerians of all shades. First was the meeting with a delegation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Nasarawa State, led by Alhaji Jibirin Sabo Keana. The second was a delegation of National Opinion leaders, led by Hon. Yusuf Sheriff Banki,” he added.

Political coalitions in the past and their status

Political parties going into a coalition is not new in Nigeria’s political space.

There are records of several coalition movements and while some of the alliances made impact, others collapsed due to internal disagreements.

In the First Republic, the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA), a coalition of the Action Group (AG) and the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) was formed to challenge the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), but later failed.

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There was a merger between the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and the Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP) in 1979 to allow the NPN to secure a parliamentary majority.

Similarly, there was another attempts in 2003 by the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to counter the PDP, but it later collapsed.

In 2013, some opposition parties successfully merged to form the APC. The parties involved in the merger are the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), ANPP, a faction of APGA, and the new PDP (nPDP).

The merger succeeded in ending the PDP’s 16-year rule in the 2015 elections. It marked the first time an opposition party unseated an incumbent government.