Coalition woos regional leaders, Tinubu’s loyalists fight back

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have intensified consultations with regional power blocs to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections.

This is as some groups loyal to the President say they are meeting influential political and religious leaders to increase Tinubu’s chances of re-election.

Since July, when the coalition leaders unveiled the African Democratic Congress as their political platform for the 2027 elections, they have taken steps to drive their agenda.

The ADC figures, including former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, have toured several states, including Lagos, Imo, Oyo, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, and Borno.

However, the tempo increased in recent weeks as the group held multiple meetings with regional blocs and influential groups.

Last Thursday, Atiku visited a former Minister of Communications, Prof Ali Isa Pantami, at his residence.

Though Pantami said their talks centred on the economy, education, and governance, sources said the meeting was not unconnected with the coalition agenda.

Atiku had on Wednesday met with a former Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido in Abuja.

In a post on X, he disclosed that they “discussed extensively on the state of the nation and how we can all collaborate to redeem the current situation.”

The same day, the ex-VP met with former state chairmen of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change.

He said he briefed them on the origins of the coalition platform and its ideals.

Atiku further engaged political stakeholders from Borno State, led by Mohammed Kumaila, on worsening insecurity in the North.

The former VP on Monday met Attahiru Bafarawa, a former Sokoto State governor, in Abuja.

Like Atiku, Obi also embarked on a series of consultations during the week.

On Tuesday, he met with the leadership of a faction of pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, led by Oba Oladipo Olaitan, who also heads an ethnic nationality coalition comprising PANDEF and the Middle Belt Forum.

On Monday, Obi visited Pantami at his residence.

Sharing photos of the meeting via X on Tuesday, Pantami wrote, “Last night, I received a friendly visit from His Excellency Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State and the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party. We discussed a range of issues, including agriculture, economy, education, artificial intelligence, global statistics, and unity in diversity, among others.”

On Sunday, Obi, alongside other coalition leaders under the ADC, visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

He also called on the Olubadan designate, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, at his Bodija residence, where he met with prominent Yoruba leaders.

The former LP presidential candidate had last week held separate meetings with former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Obasanjo.

In a post on X on Friday, Obi described Jonathan as “a dear elder brother, statesman, and leader” after what he called a “fruitful closed-door meeting” in Abuja.

The PUNCH reported that Obi’s recent meeting with Jonathan was to seek his support and dissuade him from joining the 2027 race.

Multiple sources also noted that Obi later briefed Obasanjo on the outcome of the Jonathan meeting while seeking the former’s backing.

Sunday PUNCH reports that earlier this month, former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was in Imo State, where he met political, traditional, and religious leaders on governance and economic development.

He visited the palace of the traditional ruler of Nekede autonomous community, Eze Stephen Kemjika, Agumanu IV, and also called on a former Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Nnaemeka Maduagwu.

At the latter’s residence, he met with Obi and leaders of the Social Democratic Party.

El-Rufai also held talks with leaders of the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri, sparking debate over the coalition’s prospects of gaining inroads into the South-East.

Aides deflect from presidential ambitions

Media aides of the coalition leaders, in separate interviews with Sunday PUNCH, said the engagements were to strengthen ties with the grass roots.

Obi’s ally and National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, said, “The idea is for us to connect with people at the grassroots and leaders, and to tell them our mission and vision, particularly what Peter Obi intends to do for the country.

“It is about pulling people out of poverty, working together in synergy, and ensuring that insecurity and the economic well-being of every Nigerian become paramount.”

Atiku’s aide, Paul Ibe, said the visits were not personal.

He said, “It is not about the ambition of the former vice president. It is about the demands of the time. Nigeria is at a crossroads and there is an urgency about the situation. So, my principal is simply responding to the wishes and aspirations of the Nigerian people.”

According to him, building a strong coalition to offer credible alternate leadership requires lots of engagements.

“There are a lot of engagements that need to be held. That means you need to collaborate. So, my principal is reaching out to leaders across the board because one thing the current administration has done is play divisive politics centering around bigotry,” Ibe explained.

In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, Sola Fasure, the media aide to ADC National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, said the former Osun State governor had been working with the party’s leadership across the South West to further the anti-Tinubu agenda.

Fasure said, “What they are doing is realignment of forces. Aregbesola is working at the national level with all the other party leaders, and they are also working at the sub-national level, like the regional level and state level, with all the leaders in those places.

“They are strengthening the party and managing the influx of people from the established APC and PDP. You will also notice that all the leaders have stopped talking. It is because they are busy now doing political education and strengthening and organising the party from the ward level upward and that’s what will make the party stronger.”

Pro-Tinubu groups to consult Shakarau, Mimiko, others

Speaking with our correspondents on Thursday, several Pro-Tinubu groups said they had intensified grassroots mobilisation to blunt the influence of opposition coalitions

In the North, a group, the Concerned APC Stakeholders, said it had concluded consultations in the North-East and was now turning to the North-West to rally key political leaders and traditional institutions.

The group’s spokesperson, Abdullahi Dauda, told Sunday PUNCH that former Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, and several first-class emirs are on its schedule.

“In the next coming weeks, we are planning to engage traditional rulers and other prominent political leaders in Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa states.

“Some of them have already given us appointment dates. For instance, we are meeting with Ibrahim Shekarau next week. Our plan is to get his assurance for the President’s re-election,” Dauda said.

He explained that their approach hinges on traditional institutions as gatekeepers of public opinion.

“In every state, we will first engage the traditional rulers. We will visit the palaces of the emirs to introduce ourselves, show them the projects President Tinubu has carried out and present what his administration has in plan for our people,” he noted.

Dauda added that the outreach had been well received, citing infrastructural projects and stabilising food prices as selling points.

“So far, it has been easy getting the cooperation of the people. Within two years, people have already seen what Tinubu has done positively,” he argued.

He also confirmed that the group engaged former Jigawa governor, Sule Lamido, though the PDP stalwart insisted he was still consulting with Atiku.

“But we are actively engaging his son, Turaki, who contested for Jigawa governorship in the last election,” Dauda said.

Dismissing the ADC-led coalition as “a bunch of frustrated people,” Dauda insisted the alliance posed no real threat.”

The South West Agenda for Asiwaju, another support group for the President, said opposition consultations in the region posed no real threat, insisting its structures remained firmly in control.

The National Chairman of the group, Senator Dayo Adeyeye, told Sunday PUNCH that SWAGA’s grassroots network spanned every ward and local government in the Southwest and extended to states like Kwara, Kogi, Benue, and Cross River.

He stressed that members were daily engaging citizens on Tinubu’s achievements under the “SWAGA 2.0” programme. Obi’s ally and National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, told our correspondent on Thursday.

Dismissing the moves of Aregbesola and Obi, Adeyeye described their activities as “grandstanding without substance.”

He maintained that, unlike the coalition leaders, SWAGA’s campaign was “systematic and deeply rooted.”

“The impact of the so-called opposition is not being felt anywhere,” he said.

In Ondo State, the Grassroots Movement for Tinubu said it had activated structures in all 18 local government areas to project Tinubu’s record.

Its Director-General, Saka Yusuf-Ogunleye, dismissed the ADC coalition as inconsequential.

Yusuf-Ogunleye disclosed plans to reach prominent Yoruba leaders, including former Ondo governor Olusegun Mimiko and Afenifere elders.

“We have plans to go to Baba Fasoranti and meet with the Afeniferes. We even sent text messages to our National Assembly members. We will get the support of everyone,” he added.

Similarly, the Progressives Network for Tinubu said it had been building alliances with leaders within Ondo State.

Its DG, Olumide Obadele, said the group began with the governor’s office and APC leadership in the state before widening consultations.

“We started by reaching out to the governor, who is the leader of the party in the state. We also visited the party chairman and discussed our mission.

“He gave us the go-ahead after we met with the Minister of Interior, who emphasised unity among party members,” Obadele explained.

According to him, the next stage is direct engagement with major stakeholders. (Punch)