• Ningi, Imoke, Tambuwal others in ex-VP’s entourage
• Atiku downplays meeting, says it was a ‘courtesy visit’
• 2023: I acted for God, country, party, expecting nothing in return, El-Rufai clarifies
• Showunmi: There are pathways to defeat APC besides merger
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar effectively ignited conversations about his political future and the potential realignment of forces ahead of the 2027 presidential election yesterday.
This came as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections paid what many observers considered a politically significant visit to his former principal, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Upon arriving at Obasanjo’s Abeokuta residence, located within the precincts of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Atiku, along with members of his entourage, was received by elder statesman Otunba Oyewole Fasawe. Thereafter, they all moved upstairs for a closed-door meeting.
Emerging from the meeting at 2:11 p.m., Atiku told journalists that the session was merely a courtesy visit.
Responding to a barrage of questions from reporters, he stated, “It’s just a courtesy visit, please. I am not going to talk about politics.”
Many analysts, however, are unlikely to overlook the implications the visit might have for the 2027 presidential election. Moreover, Atiku’s entourage, far from being political novices, comprised battle-hardened opposition figures, including Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi, former Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke, and former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal.
The presence of these influential figures, all with extensive political networks, only heightened speculation about strategic consultations for 2027.
Ahead of the 2023 election, Atiku similarly visited Obasanjo, a move widely seen as an attempt to secure the elder statesman’s endorsement.
Although Obasanjo did not publicly back Atiku at the time, the former president remains a formidable figure in Nigerian politics, capable of shaping alliances and influencing electoral outcomes.
The meeting comes at a time when opposition forces are recalibrating following their defeat in 2023.
With President Bola Tinubu consolidating power, the PDP faces a significant challenge in repositioning itself as a viable alternative.
Atiku’s continued engagement with key stakeholders signals his intent to remain a central figure in the evolving political landscape.
His alliance with Tambuwal, a strategic power broker in the North, and Imoke, a key player in the South-South, points to a broader coalition-building effort.
While Atiku’s denials may temporarily deflect attention, early preparations remain critical in Nigerian politics.
MEANWHILE, former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, yesterday, dismissed claims that he failed to support President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election, stating that he has moved on from such allegations.
Tinubu, backed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), won the election against the main opposition candidates — Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
El-Rufai, a key APC chieftain, has been at the centre of political discussions, recently asserting that his views on governance would remain unchanged regardless of his role in the Tinubu-led administration.
On Sunday, an X user, Yusuf Tukur, tweeting as #realYusufTukur, claimed that Tinubu and his allies had actively sought El-Rufai’s support before the election but later accused him of not backing the president.
“When they were desperately seeking El-Rufai’s support, #officialABAT and his goons were everywhere singing Malam’s praises. Given their penchant for ingratitude, however, they’ve turned around to claim that Malam didn’t even support PBAT. But these testimonies say otherwise,” the tweet read.
In response, El-Rufai stated via his X handle that he had no personal expectations from his political actions, adding that the unfolding events were simply a reflection of human nature.
“We did what we did for God, country, and party, expecting nothing in return. What is unfolding is merely another life experience and part of human nature. We have moved on, but their conscience won’t let them sleep well. Thanks anyway,” he wrote.
Further clarifying his stance on governance, El-Rufai said he does not subscribe to political pretence, likening certain politicians to actors.
“Truly, I don’t know how to pretend. Being a Nollywood actor in governance is for some others, not for some of us,” he remarked.
Also, a PDP chieftain, Otunba Segun Showunmi, has criticised recent calls for opposition parties to merge to unseat the APC in the 2027 elections.
Speaking on Arise TV, Showunmi described the idea of a merger as “a very lazy approach,” emphasising that it is misguided to think that unseating the ruling president requires only a merger, especially when the incumbent secured just about 8 million votes out of the 80 million votes available in 2023.
Showunmi, a former governorship aspirant in Ogun State, stated: “It’s very lazy and extremely annoying that a political party like PDP is not working very hard in the field to try to make itself electable. And to do that, they need to stop the quarrel. Number two, they need to do a differentiation of why people should vote for them.
“You can’t be speaking from the same side as the ruling party. You are not as efficient as them, and you want people to dump them for you. You can’t be saying, ‘Oh, I want to be president,’ and your only pathway is not to get into the field and start working but to sit there and talk as if some people are going to come and join you.
“There is a pathway for them to win without all this nonsense talk of merger.”
Showunmi questioned the feasibility of such a merger, asking: “When you bring all six of you together, which of you have agreed to be the president? All of you will then bolt out of the arrangement, claiming that you didn’t get what you wanted. You who cannot even endure in a legacy party like PDP, are you the ones that will endure if you go to another party and you don’t get what you want?”
He added that opposition parties must present realistic, actionable and verifiable ideas rather than relying on alliances.
