Political strategist and Convener of the League of Northern Democrats, Umar Ardo, has said the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is unlikely to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race.
Ardo, however, said Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, could be more willing to step aside, but warned that such a decision could cost him the backing of his supporters.
According to the political strategist, Atiku would probably retain his support base if he announced his intention to withdraw from the contest.
He nevertheless stressed that the former vice president, who was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, is highly unlikely to make such a decision.
Ardo explained that although Obi may have the flexibility to withdraw from the race, his supporters may not be prepared to follow his decision, identifying the positions of both politicians as major obstacles to a possible opposition merger ahead of the presidential election.
Speaking on Arise News, Ardo said, “My view is that Atiku does not have the propensity by himself to say, ‘I will step down.’ If he says so, he will not have a problem with his support base. But the issue is that he is highly unlikely to say that.
“Then Peter Obi has the propensity to say, ‘I will step down.’ But if he says so, he will not have his support base. He will not be able to carry his support base. His support base will not go with him. So, now, these are the two problems.
“Unless we are able to resolve these two challenges, then I don’t see the fusing together being possible. However, even if they do not fuse together, individually, anyone of them has the capacity to upturn the order, depending on how he strategises himself.
“So, even if they don’t, they still have the capacity to win the election against the incumbent on an individual basis.”
