—Says no such proposal was made
Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has denied rejecting an offer to serve as running mate to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, ahead of the 2027 elections.
Obi made the clarification during an interview on Arise TV while responding to questions on a possible alliance among opposition parties ahead of the election.
In 2025, Obi, Atiku and other opposition leaders formed a coalition under the ADC. The coalition later fractured, with Obi emerging as the NDC presidential candidate and Atiku becoming the ADC standard-bearer.
Asked whether he would step down for Atiku or accept the vice-presidential slot if an alliance was reached, Obi said the issue had gone beyond individual candidates.
“I’m a candidate, yes. So, my leader, Atiku, is a candidate of another party. I am a candidate for another party. So, you are talking about two parties coming together; it is no longer him or me,” he said.
Obi said any potential alliance must be negotiated by the political parties rather than reduced to discussions between individual candidates.
“All those parties have candidates. So, it is a discussion. It is no longer me, as Peter is talking. It is like a situation where two corporations are trying to come together. It is no longer something the two CEOs go to a drink and say we are going to work together. They need to look at how to bring these two corporations together,” he said.
When told that he had previously said he would not accept a vice-presidential position from any candidate, Obi denied rejecting any such offer.
“I don’t know where that was said. I wasn’t even in a position where that was being offered, and I refused,” he said.
Obi was Atiku’s running mate in the 2019 presidential election. They, however, contested the 2023 election on different platforms, with Obi running on the Labour Party (LP) platform and Atiku on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform.
Obi said he would support any alliance committed to national unity, the rule of law, order, accountable leadership, education, healthcare and job creation.
“I want to be part of any coalition that will make Nigeria work. That will make Nigeria productive. That will create jobs for the young ones. That will pull people out of poverty. That will make education work,” Obi added.
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