Atiku: I’ll support Obi for presidency in 2027 if…

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has disclosed his readiness to support ex-Anambra State Governor Peter Obi for the 2027 presidency.

Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, said he would support Obi if the latter is selected as the party’s standard-bearer for the 2027 poll.

Obi was a PDP member before leaving the party in 2022 to pursue his presidential ambition with the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election.

He, however, came third in the election, behind Atiku, the runner-up, and President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who won the election.

Speaking in a recent interview with BBC, Atiku said he would support Obi if the PDP zones its 2027 presidential ticket to the South-East and pick the former governor as its candidate.

The former Vice President, who noted that a merger between the PDP and the Labour Party is possible ahead of the election, said: “I have said repeatedly and I even said it before the 2023 general elections that if the PDP decides to zone the presidential ticket to the South or South-East specifically, I won’t contest it.

Obi: Why I visited Atiku, Saraki, Lamido

“As long as it’s the decision of the party, I will abide by it. But I contested the 2023 presidential ticket because it was thrown open to all members of the party.

“If the party decides that it’s the turn of the South-East and Peter Obi is chosen, I won’t hesitate to support him.”

Atiku stressed that PDP members would decide his fate in the 2027 election, adding that his recent meeting with Obi might indicate a possible alliance ahead of the poll.

On why he’s still in active politics, Atiku said: “Yes, we can’t keep quiet and watch things go wrong. People are suffering and we are committed to making Nigeria a better place.

“It means you are not tired of politics of Nigeria? Not at all. I am still in active politics in Nigeria, at least, as long as God permits.

“My age doesn’t stop the young ones from testing their fate. Everybody, irrespective of age, is allowed to aspire to be anybody in the society, politically or otherwise.”

Obi recently met with Atiku and other PDP chieftains, including former Senate President Bukola Saraki and ex-Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, in Abuja.

He, however, hinged the meetings on “how to reduce the suffering of all Nigerians”.

The Star