Former Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, have urged opposition parties to close ranks and present a common front ahead of the 2027 elections.
The two leaders made the remark when Obi paid the governor a courtesy visit on Friday shortly after visiting Malikiya College of Nursing, Midwifery, Health and Social Sciences in the state capital, where he donated N10m.
Obi, who noted that the current political climate in the country was undermining democratic norms, said, “The opposition has to work together.
“We found out that in different parties today, a party in government doesn’t want democracy to function the way it should function. I said it and I maintain categorically that if I have an opportunity to serve this country, every party will function properly as a political party.”
The former Anambra State governor stressed that political parties must be stronger than any single officeholder, including the President.
“I want the party to be bigger than the president and the government so that we can build orderliness because parties will outlive us,” he said.
While acknowledging the challenges facing the political parties ahead of 2027, Obi said, “What we are trying to do is to navigate where we come together and resolve to do the right thing for the future of our children.”
He further reiterated his belief that institutional strengthening, not personalisation of power, should guide Nigeria’s political future.
Echoing Obi’s call for cohesion, Mohammed said he had expressed his desire to have Obi rejoin the Peoples Democratic Party, saying there was the need for cooperation across opposition ranks.
“I have already said I want him to be in the PDP. There are plans. There are desires. Strategies. All the opposition parties must come together.
“We want to make sure that there is a coming together in alliances by parties that are in the opposition so that we can present a common front. He is one of the outstanding leaders of the opposition parties. Definitely, having him here is a very big delight,” he said.
