Planners of an alleged solidarity move to secure a united southern backing for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027 have intensified their strategies.
Sources said state governors, key political office holders across party lines and other stakeholders have been contacted in varying ways “primarily and ultimately” to get voters to cast their ballot for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.
Findings indicated that the south-east, described as “the most likely zone of resistance”, is the main target where the bulk of the mobilisation work will be done.
“From what we have heard and the body language of some political leaders, they are also looking for ways of initiating talks with very important opposition figures like Mr Peter Obi to reconsider their ambition of vying for the presidency in 2027.
“This has been a tough task so far, but the push is unrelenting,” a source told Nigerian Tribune.
However, the Obi camp has dismissed the idea of any negotiations to step down for Tinubu.
“It will be a capital no for anyone to contemplate the idea that the former governor of Anambra state will trade his presidential ambition on the table of any negotiations,” said Tanko Yunusa, national coordinator of the Obidient Movement.
“We have already shown our interest as democrats and we have been on the narrative of changing the dynamics of our country’s misfortunes, in terms of the recycling of the leadership that we have had.
“We came with a clear ideology of a departure from the old to the present. What we came out with is prudency in management; accountability, compassion to the people, carrying the Nigerian youths along and showing a new paradigm shift from the old way of politics,” Tanko Yunusa, national coordinator of the Obidient Movement, said.
Yunusa said the planned solidarity would not achieve its intended objective because Obi would not negotiate himself out of the race.
“Obi is focused on his ambition to become president, we are determined and it is a fresh idea that will change the narrative of Nigeria.
“Obi is saying we need to be productive and accountable to the people with the little resources that we have and not to continue to be wasteful without accountability,” he said.
It was learned that Obi, who still holds tightly to his Labour Party card despite fraternizing with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has not engaged governors in his immediate zone or the larger South in serious 2027 strategic talks.
“What is being plotted in this so-called solidarity plan is to have the governors, particularly second-term-seeking governors, work behind the scenes for President Tinubu’s second term as they also pursue their own ambitions, hoping for a reciprocal gesture,” a senior political party official said.