Atiku, Kwankwaso, Obi discussing merger, may set up formidable party
Gearing up for possibilities as the country continues its transition process, the trio of Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and Peter Obi have begun to discuss the possibility of a merger, with the ultimate goal of setting up a formidable party that can more effectively challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), THISDAY has learnt.
The meeting of these three political leaders, which had been going on for a while, it was gathered, started with the one between Atiku, the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Kwankwaso, who was the presidential candidate of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) at the last presidential election.
After the first leg of the meetings was adjudged successful, another one between Obi, the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) and face of the OBIdient Movement, and other critical elements in PDP started to take shape, after the other two stakeholders agreed to bring him in.
The discussions, which were said to still be at the preliminary stages, had been hinged on two pillars.
The first, according to insiders, the three leaders have decided to wait and watch the outcome of the election petitions in court, which would determine the second leg of the decision, should the court verdict go south.
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For instance, sources privy to some of the discussions hinted that the leaders were hopeful that the presidential election tribunal would be “just and fair” enough to establish that the election that brought President Bola Tinubu to office could not stand any decent electoral test and, as such, do the needful.
By this, the leaders were said to be hopeful that the tribunal would call for a re-election or rerun, which would see them come together in a merger for the election and challenge Tinubu and APC in the second opportunity.
However, if the tribunal decided otherwise, the leaders were said to be considering setting up a formidable party ahead of the 2027 general election, during which they planned to take over the reins of power from the ruling APC.
A source said, “The meeting started with Kwankwaso and Atiku and they have agreed to bring Peter Obi in to set up a formidable opposition after the court cases. Although they have not got to the point of discussing who will lead the opposition, they are leaving it out for now till after the court cases.
“After the court cases, they will plan and come together for a re-election or stand together ahead to fight the 2027 election battle. They are considering a formidable party comprising the PDP, Labour and NNPP.”