Leaders of the northern political establishment and other key stakeholders across the country appeared to have concluded on the need to jettison the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the vehicle to deploy in challenging incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general election, reports Nigerian Tribune.
Investigations by the newspaper confirmed that the leaders across the North and South, who have been meeting in the last three months, have come to a conclusion that the PDP was becoming a dead horse and that the governors, who hold the ace in the party, could no longer be relied upon to play the major opposition roles in 2027.
It was gathered that a committee set up in the last weeks of December 2024 to finalise the details of the new mega party has been given a deadline of late February to announce the special purpose vehicle the opposition would rely upon to dislodge the APC.
Sources, however, said that there is no conclusion yet on the lead candidate to fly the flag of the mega party in 2027.
“The leaders are looking at a number of options as the 2027 election calendar is being awaited from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in May. There are four or five options on the table as presidential hopefuls. There is Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Peter Obi, both of whom contested the 2023 election, and then, a former governor of Kaduna State. Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and the former Rivers State governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi. Former governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is also being considered, just as are reports that former President Goodluck Jonathan could be considered as a possible option, especially, looking at the contention in some quarters that you may have to confront a southern candidate with another candidate from the South,” a source said.
It was gathered that a series of meetings that have taken place within the country and what a source called the “West and the East Coast,” have resolved to establish a mega party that would tackle the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the race for Aso Rock in 2027.
A source equally said that the recently held democracy summit, in Abuja was one of the measures meant to galvanise the forces ahead of the eventual launch of the mega party.
Another source told the Nigerian Tribune: “The North seems to have settled for a candidate they believe would give the APC a good run for the money in 2027. The parties being considered for the mega coalition include the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and a number of other registered parties. The PDP is not featuring prominently in the calculation because of the belief that many of its governors are afraid of President Tinubu and are secretly working for his re-election.”
It was also gathered that the candidate of the LP, Mr Peter Obi is featuring prominently in the coalition, as a source said that proponents of the coalition are insisting that it cannot work without a Peter Obi.
It was also learnt that while Atiku is already acting as the rallying point for the expected coalition, all eyes may not be lost on Obi and Tambuwal.
A source, however, discountenanced the feeling that Atiku may be too old for the presidency in 2027, adding that the example of Donald Trump of the United States is still fresh in mind.
Sources also said that the League of Northern Democrats (LND), headed by former Kano State governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, is already playing a coordinating role in sewing together all fronts in the emerging coalition.
