The proposed alliance between the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and a former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, for a joint 2027 presidential ticket has reached an advanced stage.
Both Obi and Kwankwaso have jointly set up a committee for the actualisation of the joint ticket under the African Democratic Congress.
A principal official of the ADC disclosed that the Obi-Kwankwaso alliance was originally proposed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
According to the party official, Obasanjo not only blessed Obi’s defection to the ADC, he also asked the former Anambra State governor to work with Kwankwaso to secure the presidential and vice-presidential tickets of the party.
Obasanjo openly campaigned for Obi in 2023 and mobilised support for him across the country against the All Progressives Congress candidate, now President Bola Tinubu.
The former president, in an open letter dated January 1, 2023, said, “None of the contestants is a saint, but when one compares their character, antecedents, understanding, knowledge, discipline and vitality they can bring to bear, and the great effort required to stay focused on the job—particularly looking at where the country is today—and with the experience on the job that I personally had, Peter Obi, as a mentee, has an edge.”
Kwankwaso, on the other hand, was appointed Minister of Defence by Obasanjo during his second term.
