Atiku open to talks with opposition parties ahead of 2027 election

The campaign for Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says he is ready to talk with other opposition parties to strengthen their cooperation for the 2027 election.

Phrank Shaibu, who is the Director of Strategic Communications for the Atiku Presidential Campaign Council, told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday that they have not confirmed reports stating that Atiku rejected the idea of having one candidate from the opposition.

He also mentioned that there is no agreement yet on a single candidate or any cooperation if there is a presidential run-off.

"I cannot confirm at this stage that His Excellency has rejected the proposal or that any agreement on a single candidate or run-off cooperation has been reached," Mr Shaibu said.

He added that Atiku is still open to discussions to strengthen cooperation among the opposition forces.

Mr Shaibu said he is checking the details of the G100 proposal and Atiku's response, including whether this group provided polling or any data to support their strategy.

His comments came after a report by Saturday PUNCH, which stated that the G100 opposition group is thinking about how to work together if the 2027 presidential election goes to a second round.

The PUNCH report, citing unnamed sources from G100, said talks with Atiku and Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, are ongoing. But neither candidate seems ready to back a single candidate.

One unnamed source mentioned that a potential run-off is one of the options being discussed if they cannot agree on a common opposition candidate before the election.

Another source referred to some “statistics” and “research” that suggested no candidate might win outright in the first round.

PREMIUM TIMES has not independently verified the research mentioned in the report.

Mr Shaibu said the Atiku campaign is looking into whether any polling or electoral modelling was shared during the talks.

The G100 group has been advocating for cooperation among opposition parties leading up to the presidential election.

In August, PREMIUM TIMES reported that G100 and the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives were encouraging opposition parties to unite behind a single presidential candidate. Read more here.

The group then held an opposition summit in Abuja on 31 August. Representatives from the ADC, Allied Peoples Movement, NDC, a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, Peoples Redemption Party, and Social Democratic Party attended.

Atiku and Mr Obi did not attend the summit.

The groups that took part agreed to form committees and working groups to come up with proposals on uniting the opposition, a national reform programme, and possibly a common presidential candidate. PREMIUM TIMES reported the outcomes of those talks.

Recently, Kenneth Okonkwo, a spokesperson for the Atiku campaign, said opposition parties need to combine their political structures and votes if they want to effectively challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress. PREMIUM TIMES covered his comments on 28 September.