Allies of former President Goodluck Jonathan are lobbying opposition figures, including former Anambra State governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to step down from the 2027 race in Jonathan’s favour.
The move, according to sources, is part of a wider plan to build a formidable opposition front capable of unseating President Bola Tinubu, who has already secured the backing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for re-election.
It is also understood that leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), especially from the North, have been pressuring Jonathan to return to the political stage.
Before Jonathan’s loyalists began reaching out, several PDP chieftains had also tried to woo Obi back to the party, having defected in 2022 to secure the Labour Party ticket. Obi has since aligned himself with the ongoing opposition coalition housed under the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The coalition features politicians such as former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, former Senate President David Mark, ex-Osun governor Rauf Aregbesola, and former Kaduna State governor Nasir el-Rufai.
Although unconfirmed reports suggested that Jonathan had personally met Obi to ask him to step down, close associates of the Labour Party leader denied any direct talks.
“It is true that Jonathan’s people want Obi to step down for him, but Jonathan himself has yet to meet Obi. I can assure you that Obi is committed to his cause of rescuing Nigeria,” a source close to the former Anambra governor said.
Jonathan’s backers argue that he is the strongest Southern candidate to take on Tinubu because he would be limited to a single four-year term, which, in their view, aligns with the North-South power rotation principle.