On September 2, 2024, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) announced that leading opposition figures Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Kwankwaso are exploring a potential merger ahead of the 2027 presidential election. PDP deputy national spokesman Ibrahim Abdullahi disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
Abdullahi stated that the three candidates from the last election—PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s Peter Obi, and Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP)—are considering setting aside personal ambitions to form a strong alliance to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He suggested that better management of past conflicts within the PDP could have prevented the loss of these key figures and potentially changed the outcome of the previous election.

He reflected on the missed opportunity, saying that retaining figures like Kwankwaso and Obi might have closed the gap in votes against APC’s Bola Tinubu, who won the 2023 election with 8,794,726 votes. Atiku Abubakar secured 6,984,520 votes, while Peter Obi achieved 6,101,533 votes, and Kwankwaso earned 1,496,687 votes. Abdullahi affirmed ongoing discussions to possibly reunite with these figures, highlighting the PDP’s commitment to learning from past challenges and striving for a more unified front in future elections.