The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has ruled out the idea of personally stepping down for the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the 2027 presidential election, Peak Newspaper reports.
Obi said the issue should no longer be viewed as a personal decision between him and Atiku, stressing that both politicians are now presidential candidates of different political parties.
The former Anambra State governor made the remarks during an interview on Arise Television, where he discussed the 2027 election, the opposition coalition, the economy, national unity, security and governance.
Asked whether he would be willing to step down for Atiku, Obi said any decision on a possible alliance must now involve the political parties and their structures.
“Where we are now is that I’m a candidate, my leader Atiku is a candidate of another party. So you are talking about two parties coming together,” Obi said.
He compared the situation to a possible merger between two corporations, arguing that such an arrangement could not be decided simply through a personal agreement between two individuals.
According to him, any attempt to form a united opposition platform would require discussions on how the different political parties and their structures would work together.
The comments come amid continued efforts by opposition politicians to form a stronger political platform capable of challenging President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.
Obi and Atiku were previously political allies. Obi served as Atiku’s running mate on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket in the 2019 presidential election.
However, their political paths diverged ahead of the 2023 election, when Obi left the PDP to contest the presidency on the Labour Party platform, while Atiku remained the PDP presidential candidate.
The two politicians later became part of a wider opposition coalition that adopted the ADC platform, but the coalition did not ultimately result in both men contesting the 2027 presidential election under the same party.
Obi eventually emerged as the NDC presidential candidate, while Atiku became the ADC presidential candidate.
Addressing speculation that he could accept the position of vice-president under Atiku if an agreement was reached, Obi also denied that he had previously rejected an offer to become Atiku’s running mate.
“I don’t know where that was said. I wasn’t even in a position where that was being offered, and I refused,” he said.
While Obi did not completely shut the door on negotiations between opposition parties, his comments made clear that he does not consider the matter a simple question of him surrendering his presidential ticket to Atiku.
Obi also spoke about the economic policies of the current administration and identified the floating of the naira as one policy he would retain if elected president.
“There’s one – the floating of the Naira. I’m not going to defend it. But I’m going to put productivity to make it more valuable to the people,” he said.
The Tinubu administration introduced the floating exchange-rate system in 2023 as part of its foreign exchange reforms. The policy has remained controversial because of the naira’s depreciation, inflationary pressures and its impact on businesses and household incomes.
Obi said he would not focus on defending the policy in isolation but would seek to increase productivity and strengthen Nigeria’s economic base.
He has repeatedly advocated a shift from what he describes as a consumption-driven economy towards greater production, agriculture, exports and investment.
According to Obi, increasing domestic production would help strengthen the naira and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imports.
The NDC candidate also warned against allowing ethnic considerations to dominate the 2027 presidential election.
“Our election should not be driven by tribalism,” he said.
He said Nigerians should focus on the competence, character, programmes and capacity of candidates rather than their ethnic backgrounds.
Obi further expressed his commitment to the development of Northern Nigeria, saying the region has significant agricultural potential that could contribute substantially to the country’s economy.
He also addressed historical grievances surrounding Nigeria’s past, including attempts to associate him with the 1966 military coup.
Obi pointed out that he was only four years old when the event occurred and said Nigerians should focus on building unity rather than allowing past events to continue dividing the country.
“I am committed to the future of the North. I believe the North has so much to offer Nigeria. As a country, we can make more money from agriculture than we do from oil,” he said.
He argued that agriculture could become a major source of wealth for Nigeria if properly developed, particularly in regions with large areas of cultivable land.
Obi also criticised Nigerian presidents who spend their holidays outside the country, saying the President should use such periods to visit parts of Nigeria and engage directly with citizens.
“Nigeria’s President must spend his vacation in Nigeria. We cannot continue with this nonsense,” he said.
He argued that a Nigerian president should be able to visit states facing security and developmental challenges rather than spending extended holiday periods abroad.
Obi said that, if elected president, he would visit places such as Zamfara, Borno and Anambra during periods when other leaders might ordinarily take vacations.
He also criticised what he described as short and symbolic presidential visits to troubled areas, arguing that the President should spend sufficient time in affected communities to understand their challenges.
According to Obi, a president visiting a crisis-hit state should remain there for several days, meet traditional rulers, state officials, community leaders and other stakeholders, and directly assess the situation.
He gave Benue as an example, saying the President should be able to spend several days in the state engaging stakeholders rather than making brief official visits.
The former Anambra governor’s comments come as the 2027 presidential contest increasingly takes shape, with opposition parties facing growing pressure to determine whether they will contest separately or form a common platform against the APC.
