Johnchuks Onuanyim 
There are strong indications that the broad-based coalition of parties being championed by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; erstwhile governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El Rufai and others may not pick a consensus candidate to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. This is due to a current disagreement in the group over the type of candidate needed to oust the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election.
The coalition is made up of members drawn from the APC, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the Labour Party (LP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the African Democratic Alliance (ADC), among other parties.
Sunday Telegraph gathered from insiders over the weekend that although members of the coalition are looking at Atiku and former Presidential candidate of the LP, Peter Obi as possible choices, there is a serious disagreement on the choice of candidate to run against Tinubu.
Few weeks ago, Sunday Telegraph had reported that the CPC block had proposed an Atiku/ Obi ticket, where Atiku would serve one term and hand over to Obi. That thought was said to be championed by El Rufai, who had publicly stated that power should remain in the South. He was to recant some days later, stating that what mattered was the person who can defeat President Tinubu.
Insiders within the coalition said that for now, members are torn between picking a strong candidate from the North to battle Tinubu and picking also a Southerner in order to ensure that power remained in the South. That is why for now, the Coalition has dropped the issue of where the candidate will come from but is focused on building a network across the country that is capable of challenging and sacking the APC in 2027.
A Source in the coalition told Sunday Telegraph yesterday that, “for now, we are still building the base. You know the issue of North and South is a sensitive issue. We are not discussing that yet. What we have agreed is that at worst, we all go for primaries. You remember that Buhari emerged via primaries when the APC coalition was formed in 2014 against the PDP. There is no doubt that Atiku and Obi are the two main prospects, but it is also clear that Obi does not want a Vice-Presidential slot and Atiku has not shown willingness to withdraw. So, if we start talking to them about that, we might not be able to make progress.”
A former Chieftain of the LP in the South-East had early this week said that the LP is dead and cannot serve as a platform for any serious candidate. “Even Peter Obi himself is moving into the coalition. The Labour Party is no longer a veritable platform. So also, the PDP. The internal conflicts in those two parties are compelling reasons for any serious politician to leave them and find solace somewhere”, said the politician, who recently defected to the APC.
It was learnt that the multiple defections out of the PDP and LP into the APC have become a worry for the Coalition, even though one source close to Atiku said the defections were a reflection of the panic in the APC. He, however, stated that the President was only wooing big names into the APC without the mass of Nigerians, who are hungry and angry.
He said: “Experience has shown that those big names don’t deliver votes. They can only influence some things but the bulk of the voters are the masses. Remember Buhari’s consistent 10 million votes in the North. It didn’t come from governors or bigwigs. What of Peter Obi in 2023? Who worked for him? Was there any governor that worked for him? But he did very well. What matters are the voters, not the litany of big names you parade.”
He said the Coalition might end up with primaries, if a consensus was not reached early.
