Lamido Faults Atiku, Obi Over Failure to Unite Ahead of 2027 Election

Former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido has criticised opposition leaders Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi for failing to unite ahead of the 2027 presidential election, saying their division gives President Bola Tinubu an advantage.

Lamido, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), argued that a united opposition would have presented a stronger challenge to Tinubu, suggesting that Atiku could have emerged as the presidential candidate with Obi as his running mate.

He made the remarks on Friday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he was asked whether the 2027 election could produce a similar outcome to the 2023 contest, in which Tinubu defeated Atiku and Obi.

“I think the way things are, the propaganda and support warfare is too much. It’s too intense for even Nigeria to be able to really understand what’s happening,” he said.

Lamido blames opposition division

The former governor attributed the opposition’s difficulties partly to the number of serving and former governors in the All Progressives Congress (APC), as well as the failure of Atiku and Obi to work together.

“Because of the number of governors, both serving and former governors of the APC, and because Atiku and Obi divided their own force, it gives Tinubu the advantage,” he said.

Lamido argued that the two opposition leaders were weakening their collective political strength by pursuing separate ambitions.

“So both Peter Obi and Atiku are simply handing Tinubu, very easily. But if they come together, it would have been a high-level canvas, you know, Atiku for president and Obi running mate, and then after four years, one takes over,” he said.

Opposition coalition suffers setbacks

Atiku and Obi left the PDP and Labour Party, respectively, after the 2023 presidential election to pursue a united opposition front ahead of the 2027 polls.

In July 2025, opposition leaders adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a common platform to challenge Tinubu. However, disagreements over party leadership, structure and presidential ambitions weakened the coalition.

The divisions eventually led Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso to leave the ADC for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in May 2026. Obi was subsequently adopted as the NDC’s presidential candidate for 2027.

Atiku, on the other hand, remained in the ADC and won its presidential primary.

Despite their separate political platforms, both leaders have continued their preparations for the election. Obi has maintained that any alliance with Atiku must be based on a formal agreement between their parties rather than a personal arrangement.

‘Whoever wins, Nigeria will lose’

Lamido expressed concern that the personal ambitions of major political contenders appeared to have taken precedence over national unity, warning that Nigerians would bear the consequences regardless of who emerged victorious.

“I’ve been saying, look, whoever wins, Nigeria will lose. That’s my problem.

“Whoever, whether Peter Obi, Atiku, whoever wins, in terms of our unity, our economy, our love as a country of brothers and sisters, it’s all gone down. It’s more about their personalities. They are abusing each other. Those things become very, very personal,” he said.

He said his concern was not necessarily about which candidate won but the effect of the political contest on national cohesion.

Lamido also raised concerns about growing political tension, particularly in northern Nigeria, citing what he described as propaganda, hate campaigns and incitement.

According to him, political campaigns have shifted away from discussions about national development, unity and what candidates can offer Nigerians.

“We’ve abandoned the traditional campaign on issues, about love, about empathy, about unity, about Nigeria, and then what can you offer? What can you offer? So it’s not there anymore,” he said.

2027 presidential election

The 2027 presidential election is expected to feature several prominent political figures, including Tinubu of the APC, Atiku of the ADC, Obi of the NDC and Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC).

Tinubu, who assumed office on May 29, 2023, is seeking a second four-year term.

In the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu secured 8,794,726 votes to emerge as winner, while Atiku came second with 6,984,520 votes. Obi finished third with 6,101,533 votes.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are slated for February 6.

INEC said Nigeria’s National Register of Voters had risen to 103,428,715 following the three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise, which recorded 10,772,421 new registrations.

However, the commission disclosed on November 10 that more than 1.6 million invalid and duplicate records had been removed following a technical audit.

INEC also said Permanent Voter Card collection for newly registered voters was ongoing, with an estimated 14 million cards yet to be collected nationwide as of November 2026. The commission added that collection of the remaining Phase Three cards would resume at Registration Area (ward) levels nationwide from December 1, 2026.

For the 2023 general elections, INEC recorded 93,469,008 registered voters, out of which 87,209,007 collected their Permanent Voter Cards, representing 93.3 per cent.

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