The camp of Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has announced that a merger between opposition parties to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027 'is sealed.' Abdulrasheed Shehu, the special assistant on media to the former vice president, made the announcement via his verified Twitter handle on Friday night. Shehu stated that an alliance between the major opposition figures 'is just about time.
' This development comes on the heels of Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential hopeful, criticizing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the state of the nation. Obi expressed concerns over purported institutional corruption, mismanagement, poverty, hardship, and an escalating debt profile. Although he admitted that there was no merger deal currently, the former Anambra State governor appealed to all lovers of Nigeria, irrespective of political affiliation, to unite and challenge the ruling APC. The proposed merger has also been a wound with controversy. Prior to Obi's media address, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 election, refuted rumours of any agreement with Atiku and Obi. Kwankwaso stated that the camp of former vice president Atiku lied to some northern religious and political leaders about a purported agreement involving him and Obi to take turns at the presidency from 2027. Meanwhile, opposition supporters see a possible merger as a viable option to unseat the APC in 2027. In 2024, Ismael Ahmed, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State, addressed the potential impact of a coalition. Speaking on the Mic on Podcast, Ahmed, who previously served as a special assistant to former President Muhammadu Buhari on the National Social Development Programme, described an alliance between Obi and Atiku as a 'potential threat.