Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, is reportedly planning to create a new party to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general election.
It has been learned that Atiku, along with some members of the National Assembly, has started the process of forming the new party.
According to the Nation, Atiku’s team is concerned about the lack of unity within the main opposition party. They fear that if this continues until 2027, the party may struggle to defeat the ruling party.
A senator from the southern region who spoke to the publication mentioned that the former Vice President has been in contact with the ex-Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari. Yari previously ran for the Senate Presidency but lost to Senator Godswill Akpabio.
The source revealed that Atiku and his supporters are considering a strategy similar to what happened in 2013. Back then, some governors and federal legislators rebelled against the PDP and joined forces with other parties to establish the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In February 2013, the ruling APC was created by merging the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and the new-PDP.
The source said, “They have gone far in the arrangement. They believe that the country is in the same situation as it was in 2014 during Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s era, hence, their decision to form a mega party to wrest power from Tinubu.
“Ningi’s statement on the BBC Hausa Service was one of the moves of the promoters of the mega party. They want to create problems in the National Assembly and set the lawmakers against each other and the Presidency.”
The senator from the South stated that most of his colleagues were aware of a plan to transfer power back to the North and destabilize Tinubu’s government.
He added: “We know their game plan. We are watching them. We have since returned to our political arsenal to thwart any move to create enmity between us and the Executive and destabilize the government.”
