The former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, visited former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir Elrufai, in Abuja on Friday.
The two former Governors who are part of the opposition coalition working to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections, were seen smiling in a picture shared on the social media pages.
While no official details of their meeting have been released so far, Naijaonpoint reports that rumours have it that Obi and El-Rufai may leave the opposition coalition party, African Democratic Congress (ADC), over the plans of ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, to contest for the presidency in the 2027 election.
Naijaonpoint learnt that many of the initial promoters of the ADC coalition, including Nasir El-Rufai, are beginning to develop cold feet, due to disagreements over Atiku’s insistence on securing the party’s presidential ticket, which may affect the party’s ability to make an impact in 2027.
El-Rufai, who championed a southern presidential candidate in the 2023 election, is reportedly insisting that the presidency must remain in the South until 2031.
While former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, and Peter Obi are the aspirants from the South who have indicated their interests in the 2027 presidency, it is unclear who El-Rufai is backing.
A member of the party’s interim management team, who spoke on condition of anonymity to BusinessDay in Abuja, lamented that Atiku’s plan to contest the 2027 election will ruin the chances of the ADC.
The ADC official, however, said that the party will not stop the former vice president from contesting, noting that “the party will give everyone a level-playing field.”
Meanwhile, Obi also on Friday, met with his former running mate in the 2023 elections, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed.