Nigeria’s top opposition leaders unite in biggest political realignment since 1999
Two of Nigeria’s most influential opposition leaders, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, have joined forces in a move widely seen as the biggest shake-up in Nigerian politics since the end of military rule.
The alliance aims to mount a serious challenge against President Bola Tinubu and his All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.
Abubakar and Obi have both broken away from their longtime parties - the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), respectively - to adopt the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as their new political home. Since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, the PDP and APC have dominated the political scene, making this realignment a potentially game-changing one.
“This decision was not made lightly. It comes from deep reflection on where we are as a country and what must be done to move forward,” Obi said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “Our commitment is to sacrifice and work together towards the 2027 General Elections, ensuring that Nigeria gets competent, capable, and compassionate leadership that will prioritise the nation’s future by putting the welfare of Nigerians first.”
He added, “No one group can change Nigeria alone. To dismantle the structures that keep our people in poverty and insecurity, we must build bridges, not walls, even when those bridges are uneasy.”
The coalition also includes other prominent figures such as former Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Senate President David Mark, who was named National Chairman of the ADC, with Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola serving as National Secretary.
Not everyone has welcomed the alliance. Dumebi Kachikwu, who ran for president on the ADC ticket in 2023, accused the coalition of being a self-serving political arrangement. “The same people who put our country on its knees are the same people who claim they are the fire brigade and they want to put out the fire,” Kachikwu said. “They are political jobbers…they have nothing to offer.”
After the 2023 election, Tinubu won with just 37% of the vote, while Abubakar and Obi split the opposition with 29% and 25%, respectively.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
