Atiku’s Merger Will Only Be Considered If He Supports Kwankwanso In 2027 – NNPP 

To stay politically relevant, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has been asked by the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) to align himself with Rabiu Kwankwaso and back him in 2027.

This comes after major opposition parties were urged to form a coalition by Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate, in order to unseat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.

During his meeting with a delegation from the Inter-Party Advisory Council’s national executive committee on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, Atiku stated that Nigeria requires a potent opposition party to prevent the nation from becoming a one-party state.

In a statement by Paul Ibe, his media adviser, Atiku was quoted as saying, “We have all seen how the APC is increasingly turning Nigeria into a dictatorship of one party. If we don’t come together to challenge what the ruling party is trying to create, our democracy will suffer for it, and the consequences of it will affect the generations yet unborn.”

Atiku’s merger proposal, however, has been characterized by the NNPP as “medicine after death.”

Yakubu Shendam, the NNPP’s National Publicity Secretary, responded to the proposal by saying that the party would only take Atiku’s suggestion into consideration if he backed Kwankwaso for the presidency of Nigeria in 2027.

“This is like medicine after death. If there is any future collaboration, it should not be as a result of emotions. We are going all along because we have a gladiator who has the capacity to take over Nigeria.

“We believe that there is a need to canvass for support from people to win the election, from all sides. However, we believe that Kwankwaso can deliver Nigeria in 2027.

“But that doesn’t mean that we are not looking for players like Atiku to join our party. If there is going to be a merger, it should be with the NNPP, because Atiku is now retiring, so he should support Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso,” Shendam said.