The Obidient Movement has laid down firm conditions amid talks of a coalition involving major political figures including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 election.
The proposed coalition, unveiled under the aegis of the National Political Consultative Group (NPCG), comes at a time when the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is gaining defectors and consolidating its power in anticipation of President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid.
Despite the defections, the opposition alliance has pulled together a list of political heavyweights. Among them: Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Peter Obi, former SGF Babachir Lawal, ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami. Also in attendance at the Abuja summit were ex-Ministers Aminu Wali, Adamu Maina Waziri, Bolaji Abdullahi, PDP BoT Chairman Adolphus Wabara, and former Senate members Ben Obi and Captain Idris Wada.
It is understood that discussions are ongoing about selecting a political party to house the coalition, with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) highly likely to be picked.
Commenting on the development, analysts say a united opposition could pose a serious challenge to President Tinubu. Political analyst and former Obi aide, Katchy Ononuju, believes the coalition—if properly organized—could force the incumbent to adopt more inclusive governance.
“The idea of a coalition for me is the final waking up period for the opposition,” Ononuju said, citing the breakdown of zoning agreements in the PDP as a key reason for past failures. “If they can come together, it will be a very good thing for this democracy… That also will force concessions from the hands of President Tinubu because his nepotism is replicating Buhari’s bad ways.”
Ononuju dismissed any suggestion that the Obidient Movement would accept a vice-presidential slot for Obi.
He said: “The members of the Obidient Movement will not agree to work with Obi if he is not the presidential candidate on any ticket he runs on. And because he will not dare to disobey the wishes of the movement, he will not hurt them and I think that is the biggest problem they have.
“Having him around, him being quiet while you talk doesn’t mean he’s afraid – no – he has to answer to the people who follow him.
“I don’t think our laws allow that, with the current momentum, I don’t know if the laws allow Atiku to do Vice Presidency for a third time, he has done it twice, I don’t know what the law says. If two of them get there, Atiku will be VP for a third time.
“Now that we have momentum within the political space, Obi is the most popular politician in Africa, let us run with it, it’s a collective nation building effort. Let him be meeting all those people so that they can see his capacity for power.
“If they can support him, we can correct the fundamental problem that was the mistake of the PDP when they refused to zone the presidency to the South and that’s where the party got it wrong. The movement will support Obi if he is at the top of any ticket.
“Obi draws adrenaline from the frenzy in the crowd, he is just the face of a masquerade which is the people. Like you saw the alliance meeting, those were people gathered in numbers with regards to the decrees of the military.
“Peter owns the crowd on the streets. Let us work with that because we have something that if you put it in front of the masquerade, people will know that we are coming.
“Southerners who mostly support Peter will not join in removing the presidency from here. One thing Nigeria has gained is the slow down in the deaths in the East, Tinubu’s government has stopped the funding and support for the elements that are responsible for unknown gunmen sting operations.
“Nobody has a movement like the Obidient Movement, they will not support Peter at all if he is not at the top in any alliance. His movement is like a cult, nobody amongst them has the cult followers Peter has, which has surpassed the Buhari followership.”
