The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi on Monday, has visited former vice-president and Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Obi paid his ex – team mate during the 2019 presidential election the visit on Monday, May 13, but no reason has yet been given for the visitation.
Atiku, however, disclosed this in a post on his official handle on X platform.
The post showed Obi and Atiku exchanging handshakes was captioned, “It was my honour and privilege to host @PeterObi today. – AA “
A post about 22 hours earlier by the former VP, stated that “It is not over until it is over” while three days ago, he hosted the former Governor of Delta and his Vice Presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa.
The development sets off speculations that the two former Presidential candidates may be scheming to regroup ahead of 2027 to confront the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in what seemed a preparation for an epic battle for the occupation of Aso Rock, the nation’s seat of power.
The Daily Crucible reports that earlier in January this year, Atiku Abubakar had expressed willingness to lead a coalition of opposition parties to sack the ruling APC come 2027.
Atiku gave a hint to that in a congratulatory message to victorious PDP governors whose elections were upheld by the Supreme Court.
Atiku was quoted as saying, “I am as prepared as ever to lead the charge, alongside all our leaders and governors, for the good of our country.”
Atiku had also vaguely hinted that he may run again in 2027.
In November, 2023, Atiku Abubakar also drummed the need for the opposition parties to align against APC, warning that Nigeria was tettering towards ‘one-party dictatorship’
The Daily Crucible reports that he sounded the warning at the time when he received a delegation from the national executive committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC).
“You have come here today to say that we should cooperate in order to promote democracy.
“But the truth of the matter is that our democracy is fast becoming a one-party system, and of course, you know that when we have a one-party system, we should just forget about democracy.
“We have all seen how the APC is increasingly turning Nigeria into a dictatorship of one party.
“If we don’t come together to challenge what the ruling party is trying to create, our democracy will suffer for it, and the consequences of it will affect the generations yet unborn.
“The project of protecting democracy in our country is not about just one man,” he had said on a Tuesday, November 14, 2023.
In the last presidential election, President Bola Tinubu of the APC was declared the winner after garnering 8,794, 726 votes.
It was believed strongly in some quarters that had Atiku, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwakwanso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) merged under one political party, they would have defeated the APC and Tinubu in 2023.
