Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has disclosed that key figures from the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and other political groups are part of a burgeoning coalition aimed at unseating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
Atiku made the revelation on Wednesday in Abuja during a visit by political stakeholders from Kogi-East Senatorial District, led by former Kogi State Deputy Governor Simon Achuba.
He explained that the coalition, which cuts across party lines, was formed to challenge what he described as the inefficiency and incompetence of the current APC-led administration.
“I want you to understand that it is up to us,” Atiku told the visiting delegation. “You are leaders of your various communities. We have a coalition. All the major political parties are involved. In this coalition — the APC, PDP, Labour Party — all of us are involved. That is the way to go in confronting such an incompetent and inefficient government.”
Recall that Atiku on March 20 announced the formation of a coalition of opposition parties aimed at unseating President Tinubu in 2027. He was flanked at the press conference by Dr Yunusa Tanko, representative of the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who recently left the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
His remarks come amid growing political realignments and mounting criticisms of the Tinubu administration, particularly over worsening insecurity, economic hardship, and allegations of exclusionary governance.
Aside the defection of El-Rufai from the APC to the PDP, the only other major switch towards the coalition has been the departure of former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, from the APC. While he has not formally joined the coalition, his criticism of the APC government has been viewed to align with the position of the coalition.
But while observers and Nigerians await the coalition to gain momentum, the PDP—Atiku’s party—has been hit by a wave of high-profile defections, fuelling uncertainty about its internal cohesion ahead of 2027.
In Delta State, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, along with his predecessor and Atiku’s 2023 running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, have moved to the APC, taking with them the entire PDP structure in the state.
The National Assembly has also witnessed a steady erosion of the opposition’s ranks. Earlier this week, the three senators representing Kebbi State formally defected from the PDP to the APC on the floor of the Senate. This followed the defection of Senator Kawu Sumaila (Kano South) from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) to the APC, reducing the number of opposition senators to 39.
The trend continued on Thursday at the House of Representatives as two NNPP lawmakers from Kano and a PDP lawmaker from Osun also crossed over to the ruling party.
