The Lagos State representative of the Labour Party (LP) has issued a stern warning that Peter Obi’s potential acceptance of a vice-presidential position under Atiku Abubakar in discussions for an opposition coalition targeting the 2027 elections could severely undermine his authentic grassroots following.
Ife Salako, the party’s Lagos spokesperson, expressed these concerns during a Wednesday interview with BusinessDay at the West Africa Civic Tech Conference in Lagos, addressing speculation surrounding ongoing coalition discussions among opposition forces seeking to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Although Salako endorses the coalition concept in principle, he firmly opposes any arrangement positioning Obi in a secondary capacity.
“That kind of ticket will make you lose your grassroots support. It’s organic,” Salako emphasised. “The organic grassroots support, which is coming from a whole lot of young people you find around here, is not the kind of people that believe in the old politicians, the likes of Atiku and so on.”
His argument centres on the belief that Obi’s supporter demographic—primarily younger Nigerians who have grown disenchanted with traditional political structures—would reject any partnership that subordinates the Labour Party’s presidential hopeful to a veteran political figure such as Atiku.
Despite his reservations about the proposed power structure, Salako expressed unwavering support for any political arrangement capable of removing the APC from federal leadership in 2027, contingent upon Obi maintaining his frontrunner status.
“I have come to the conclusion that I am in support of two things: anything that will give Peter [Obi] a presidential ticket and anything that will make the APC leave that position,” he declared.
“Whatever will make APC leave that position in 2027, so that Nigeria can begin to realign in the right direction, I’m in for it,” he continued.
These remarks emerge as speculation intensifies regarding opposition unity negotiations, with various political stakeholders reportedly advocating for organizational mergers or strategic alliances to present a unified presidential candidate against the incumbent party.
Recent reports suggest that prominent opposition leaders, including Atiku, Obi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai, have reached preliminary agreements to establish a coalition challenging the ruling APC in the upcoming electoral cycle.
The anticipated alliance is reportedly considering fielding Atiku as its presidential standard-bearer with Obi serving as his deputy.
This pairing previously collaborated on a PDP platform during the 2019 electoral contest but fell short against former President Muhammadu Buhari representing the APC.
The 2023 electoral cycle saw both politicians pursue separate paths, with Atiku maintaining his PDP affiliation while Obi secured the Labour Party nomination. Both candidates finished as first and second runners-up, respectively, trailing behind the victorious President Bola Tinubu of the APC.
