Kwankwaso urges Atiku to quit the 2027 race and back Peter Obi as opposition leaders seek a united challenge to President Bola Tinubu
Former Kano State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress vice-presidential candidate Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, and NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi are at the centre of a fresh opposition realignment in Abuja, where Kwankwaso on Thursday, September 10, 2026, urged Atiku to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and support the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket.
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Kwankwaso made the appeal while receiving members of the Fulani Farmers Association at his Abuja residence, arguing that Atiku should reconsider another presidential bid because of his age and health.
The former Kano governor asked members of the delegation to convey the message to Atiku, whom he referred to by his traditional title, Wazirin Adamawa.
“Step down for us; if we win, we will take care of you,” Kwankwaso said, according to reports of the meeting.
In another version of the remarks reported from the meeting, Kwankwaso urged those close to Atiku to tell the former vice-president in Fulfulde that he should focus on his traditional responsibilities, given his age and health.
The intervention adds a striking personal dimension to an increasingly competitive opposition landscape ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general election.
Atiku, 80, is seeking the presidency on the ADC platform, while Obi and Kwankwaso are campaigning under the newly established NDC.
Atiku has remained one of the most experienced figures in Nigerian opposition politics.
He was vice-president from 1999 to 2007 and has previously contested the presidency several times, including as the Peoples Democratic Party candidate in 2019 and 2023.
Atiku has also indicated that the 2027 election would be his final attempt at the presidency, according to reports on his political plans.
Kwankwaso’s appeal comes after months of efforts by opposition politicians to construct a broader alliance capable of mounting a serious challenge to President Bola Tinubu and the governing All Progressives Congress.
Those efforts have produced alliances but also significant fractures.
Obi, Atiku and other opposition leaders were previously associated with an opposition coalition under the ADC, before Obi and Kwankwaso moved towards the NDC and Atiku emerged as the ADC’s presidential standard-bearer.
The disagreement over who should lead an opposition coalition has not been confined to Kwankwaso and Atiku.
Obi said on Thursday that he would not simply withdraw his presidential ambition in favour of Atiku.
Speaking on Arise TV, the NDC candidate said the issue had moved beyond the interests of two individual politicians and should instead be considered in the broader context of the opposition’s political future.
That position leaves the opposition facing a delicate balancing act.
While several parties and politicians have spoken about presenting a united challenge to Tinubu, competing presidential ambitions remain a major obstacle to a single-ticket arrangement.
Kwankwaso and Obi have nevertheless sought to present their NDC partnership as a long-term political project.
In July, Kwankwaso said agreements had been signed committing Obi to a single four-year presidential term if elected in 2027, after which the party would support a return of the presidency to northern Nigeria in 2031.
The NDC’s own path has also faced legal uncertainty.
In June, a Federal High Court in Lokoja reversed an earlier order that had directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise the party, creating questions over the platform’s status ahead of the election. The party said it would appeal the ruling.
Political momentum around the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket has continued despite those challenges.
In recent weeks, the pair have intensified consultations and campaign discussions, while Kwankwaso has argued that the size of the APC’s political machinery does not by itself guarantee victory for Tinubu in 2027.
Atiku, meanwhile, remains a formidable figure within the opposition camp and has continued to position himself as a presidential contender.
His supporters are likely to view calls for his withdrawal through the lens of the broader struggle over which opposition figure has the strongest national coalition.
For now, Kwankwaso’s message is clear: he wants Atiku to leave the presidential contest and support the NDC ticket led by Obi.
Whether Atiku accepts that appeal, however, will depend on the increasingly intricate negotiations over opposition unity, presidential eligibility, party structures and the balance between northern and southern political interests.
With the 2027 election approaching, the dispute is no longer simply about who can defeat the APC.
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It is becoming a contest over which opposition figure can persuade competing political camps to surrender their individual ambitions for a common cause.
