2027: Obi vows to defend one Nigeria, rejects Atiku ticket, promises transparent election

By Musa Baba Adamu

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has declared his commitment to preserving Nigeria’s unity, saying he believes in “one Nigeria” despite accusing President Bola Tinubu of previously expressing a contrary view.

Obi made the remarks on Thursday during an interview with Arise Television, monitored in Abuja, where he also addressed his plans for the 2027 presidential election, his relationship with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and concerns arising from the 2023 polls.

Reacting to Tinubu’s reported 1997 comment that he did not believe in “one Nigeria,” Obi said: “Today we have a President who said he doesn’t believe in one Nigeria but he is sitting as the President. I believe in Nigeria. Yes, Tinubu said he doesn’t believe in one Nigeria but I believe in one Nigeria, I’m committed to it and I want that unity.”

Obi also dismissed attempts to link him to events surrounding the 1966 coup, saying he was only about three or four years old at the time and should not be held responsible for events that occurred before he was politically conscious.

The former Anambra State governor further rejected reports that he had declined an offer to become Atiku’s running mate ahead of the 2027 election.

According to Obi, he was not even in a political party where such an offer was formally made. He said the issue had now moved beyond individual candidates because both he and Atiku are presidential candidates of different political parties.

“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; it’s no longer me or him,” he said.

Obi, however, said he would concede defeat in 2027 if the election is free, fair and credible, stressing that democracy requires respect for the choice of voters.

“If the election is free, fair, and credible, I will because it’s an election. It’s the people that would say who they want to serve them, and I will respect the will of the people because that’s democracy,” he said.

While maintaining that he won the 2023 presidential election, Obi said he had moved on from the controversy surrounding the poll. He accused the former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, of failing to deliver a credible process during the election.

Obi said his campaign would not take electoral safeguards for granted in 2027, promising a system through which results from polling units would also be transmitted to his campaign’s situation room for monitoring.

“We took things for granted in 2023. Not anymore,” he said.

On his support base in northern Nigeria, Obi claimed he was the presidential candidate most celebrated in the region. He said his administration would tackle poverty and economic instability through non-corrupt governance, investment in agriculture and educational interventions, including efforts to return out-of-school children to classrooms.

He also pledged to prioritize agriculture as a major economic asset and address poverty in the North through targeted investment and social interventions.