The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has ruled out stepping down for his African Democratic Congress counterpart, Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the 2027 presidential election, saying any decision on a possible opposition alliance must now be taken by the political parties rather than individual candidates.
Obi said the issue was no longer about whether he or Atiku would personally make way for the other, stressing that both men are now presidential candidates of separate political parties.
The former Anambra State governor stated this in an interview with Arise Television aired on Thursday, where he spoke extensively on the 2027 election, the opposition coalition, the economy, national unity, security and governance.
Asked if he would be willing to step down for Atiku, Obi said, “Do you know where we are now? Where we are now is that I’m a candidate, my leader Atiku is a candidate of another party, so you are talking about two parties coming together; it’s no longer me or me, as you are now talking about parties coming together.
“All those parties have candidates. So, it is a discussion. It is no longer me, as Peter, talking. It is like a situation where two corporations are trying to come together. It is no longer something where the two CEOs go for a drink and say, ‘We are going to work together’. They need to look at how to bring these two corporations together.”
