2027: Atiku, Makinde near alliance deal

Detailed summary

Representatives of Atiku Abubakar and Governor Seyi Makinde are nearing an alliance deal to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential electi Read More:…

Representatives of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde have held a series of meetings and reached compromises in negotiations for a possible alliance against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, Sunday PUNCH has learnt.

Findings by Sunday PUNCH revealed that the discussions between the former Vice-President and the governor are distinct from broader consultations among opposition leaders seeking to field a common presidential candidate against Tinubu.

Makinde, who is the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, has been a vocal critic of Tinubu’s administration and has supported efforts by opposition leaders to unseat the President.

On April 25 this year, Makinde convened an opposition summit at the Government House in Ibadan, where political leaders mooted the idea of presenting a single presidential candidate against the ruling All Progressives Congress.

However, the initiative has yet to yield an agreement, as Atiku, Makinde and former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, have maintained their presidential ambitions.

Makinde, however, confirmed on Friday that he was holding discussions with opposition leaders, including Atiku and Obi.

Speaking in an interview on Arise News, the governor said consultations were ongoing and that their outcome could determine whether the politicians would contest against one another or work together in the 2027 election.

“Depending on what we see between now and the election time, we may be rivals; we may be collaborators. One may be the client of the other,” he said.

Sunday PUNCH gathered from both Atiku and Makinde’s camps that the possibility of the two politicians working together was high.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Punch. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.