From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
What is former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s game plan for the 2027 presidential contest? Although Atiku has not formally declared his aspiration, there are tale tell signs that he might be seeking to be president once again.
In the last 32 years, the former Vice President has attempted to be president six times. Three he made it to the ballot, and lost. The other three times, the aspiration was extinguished at the nomination stage.
The Adamawa born politician’s first attempt to be President was in 1993, during the botched third republic, when he contested the presidential primary of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), and came third. In 2007, Atiku, who fell out with the then President Olusegun Obasanjo towards the end of their eight years tenure, defected to the defunct Action Congress( AC) where he contested the 2027 presidential election and lost.
Thereafter, he returned to the PDP, ahead of the 2011 polls, where he sought the presidential ticket of the party, but lost to President Goodluck Jonathan. For the 2015 general elections, the former vice president, who alongside other aggrieved PDP leaders dumped the party to join forces with then opposition leaders to form the All-Progressives Congress (APC), sought for the party’s presidential ticket, albeit unsuccessfully.
In the run-up to the 2019 polls, Atiku returned to the PDP again, and clinched the presidential ticket of the opposition party. However, he lost the main election to the then President Muhammadu Buhari. In the 2023 general election, he contested the presidential poll for the second consecutive time on the platform of the PDP. Unfortunately, he lost to President Bola Tinubu of the APC.
In the aftermath of the 2023 general elections, Atiku has been championing for a coalition of opposition parties to confront the APC in the 2027 general elections.
The former Vice President, who recently visited President Buhari, in Kaduna, alongside others, had consistently maintained that a coalition of opposition political parties is needed to defeat the APC-led Federal Government.
In March, Atiku, while speaking at a press briefing attended by prominent opposition leaders, in Abuja, announced the birth of an opposition coalition to prosecute the 2027 polls.
Nonetheless, the PDP Governors Forum, after its meeting in Ibadan, last April declared that the party would not go into coalition or merger with any other political party for the purpose of prosecuting the 2027 general election. The forum noted that the PDP as the dominant opposition political party in the country cannot fuse with any other party.
The opposition governors, in a communique read by the Bauchi governor posited that “ noting the nationwide speculations about possible merger of political parties, groups and/or associations, the Forum resolved that the PDP will not join any coalition or merger. However, the PDP as a major opposition party welcomes any party, persons or groups that are willing to join it with a view to wrestling power and enthroning good leadership in 2027.”
Also, former PDP Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode George faulted Atiku’s push for a coalition, especially when the major opposition party is not at the forefront of the move. George, who stated that any move for a coalition ought to have been discussed within the PDP, admonished the former Vice President to forget about contesting the 2027 presidential poll.
According to him, “those who are now forming mega party, what is the purpose of that mega party. You’re a member of a solid organisation; you want to pull out. You are meeting with Baba Buhari, Is he a member of our party? Have you discussed your mega something with anybody else? Do you think it is a private fiefdom? Is PDP a private company? Nobody owns PDP. You bring it within the party. Let us discuss it. Once it is approved, then you move. You don’t just flip flop because of your personal ambition.”
George added “Atiku, my advice is this, you will be 81 years old in 2027, and you have been contesting for the presidency since 1993. This is the time for you to calm down and act like an elder. I appeal to you in the name of the Almighty Allah, that you serve, to take it easy and leave everything for posterity.”
Analysts say the stance of the governors is an indication of what awaits the former Vice President should he indicate interest in the presidential ticket of the PDP in the next general election. Besides, there are concerns whether any coalition arrangement that is not sanctioned by the leadership of the major opposition political party would gain the needed traction.
Nevertheless, Atiku is unrelenting in his push for a coalition of opposition political parties for the next general elections; thereby raising questions about his game plan for the 2027 contest. The former Vice President, in a statement on the eve of President Bola Tinubu’s second year’s anniversary as president, had declared that “We are building a strong, united opposition coalition — one that will challenge the excesses of this administration, restore accountability, and return government to the people. We will protect the right of every Nigerian to freely choose their leaders, and we will continue to fight for economic justice, political freedom, and national progress.”
Pundits say the questions are: what options are available to him in the event that he loses out in the battle with the governors? Can he actually pull off a coalition without the support of the dominant opposition party or will he kow-tow to the governors in the long run or eventually dump the PDP?
The former Vice President has a history of ditching the PDP each time he does not get the party’s nomination. And also, unlike, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, who joined fringe political parties, after their exit from the PDP, and built it into fighting forces for the 2023 general election, the Adamawa born politician, is more at home with major political parties.
Ifeanyi Okowa, a former Delta State governor and Atiku’s running mate in the 2023 polls, shortly after his defection to the APC, said the former Vice President was on his way out of the PDP. Okowa, while responding to question in a television programme, in the aftermath of his defection to the ruling party, had noted that, “I also know that he is already heading out of the PDP from the communications he has passed on to me, and that Nigerians know already.” Nonetheless, Atiku has refuted the claim.
Recall that in March, there were speculations that the former Vice President was on his way out of the PDP. Regardless, Atiku, in a statement by his media office, dismissed talks of him leaving the opposition party as fallacious.
“We therefore, wish to state unequivocally that Atiku remains a principal bonafide member of the PDP, the main opposition party; any insinuation to the contrary is contrived to confuse Nigerians about the magnitude of the grand coalition that is at work to rescue Nigeria from the grip of the APC,” the statement read in part.
Ironically, two weeks back, news broke that the coalition championed by Atiku is allegedly considering the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its platform for the 2027 contest.
While there is no formal endorsement of the ADC as the preferred platform by the coalition, inside sources confirmed to Daily Sun that conversations are ongoing between the two parties.
What exactly is Atiku’s game plan for the 2027 presidential contest? Would he bid the PDP goodbye, in the event that the coalition crystalises, or would he remain in the opposition party and battle the governors for the party’s ticket? It seems only time will tell.