… as opposition consolidates to upstage ruling APC
Ahead of the planned coalition for the purpose of the 2027 general elections, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, on Friday, visited ex-governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, at his residence in the state.
Atiku met with Aregbesola, a estranged ally of President Bola Tinubu, on Friday.
A video of the meeting was posted by the former vice president on his X page.
Atiku wrote in the post, “Breakfast time at the residence of the former Governor of Osun State, Engr Rauf Aregbesola.”
Recall that Tinubu and Aregbesola fell out in 2020 when the former minister revamped the Mandate Group — a core of Tinubu’s loyalists — and usurped the closely-knitted caucus for individuals he could trust.
Aregbesola relaunched the group without Tinubu’s approval, announcing his protege, Abdullahi Enilolobo, as the new leader.
Efforts by close associates and friends to reconcile both Aregbesola and Tinubu in 2022, as the 2023 general elections approached, did not yield any tangible result. Both men still nurse grudges against each other.
Atiku’s visit to Aregbesola comes as opposition politicians intensify coalition efforts ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Lately, the African Democratic Congress has emerged the new platform for Nigeria’s opposition to realise their ambition of sweeping into power in 2027.
Earlier this week, ADC was reportedly adopted by a coalition of opposition leaders as the platform to challenge President Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
The party, which was previously on the fringes of national politics, was adopted by Atiku, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai and other coalition leaders on Tuesday night as their official platform for the coalition.
Recall that leaders of the coalition – former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was formally announced on March 20.
But a decision concerning the political platform to adopt had been delayed by several rounds of talks, initially with the Social Democratic Party, which had appeared as the frontrunner after El-Rufai defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress, sparking a wave of interest from his supporters and other northern political leaders.
Cracks, however, soon appeared as the SDP National Chairman, Shehu Gabam, ruled out participation in any party merger and publicly declared that the party would not allow itself to be used as a “special-purpose vehicle by selfish politicians.”
But following weeks of consultations, coalition leaders reportedly met in Abuja on Tuesday night and resolved, among other decisions, to adopt the ADC as their platform of choice.
