The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has denied reports that he rejected an offer to become the running mate to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Obi said no such offer was made to him, arguing that the question of who should occupy what position in any possible opposition alliance should not be reduced to negotiations between individual politicians.
He spoke in an interview with Arise TV while responding to questions on the possibility of a fresh alliance among opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections.
Obi and Atiku were among opposition leaders who joined forces under the ADC coalition in 2025. The arrangement subsequently broke down, with Obi emerging as the presidential candidate of the NDC and Atiku becoming the ADC’s standard-bearer.
Asked whether he would step down for Atiku or accept the vice-presidential slot under a possible alliance, Obi said the matter would have to be negotiated at the party level.
“I’m a candidate, yes. So, my leader, Atiku, is a candidate of another party. I am a candidate for another party. So, you are talking about two parties coming together; it is no longer him or me,” he said.
According to him, the process would involve the political structures of the parties rather than an agreement between two individuals.
“All those parties have candidates. So, it is a discussion. It is no longer me, as Peter is talking. It is like a situation where two corporations are trying to come together. It is no longer something the two CEOs go to a drink and say we are going to work together. They need to look at how to bring these two corporations together,” Obi said.
The NDC candidate also rejected claims that he had earlier turned down an offer to serve as Atiku’s running mate.
“I don’t know where that was said. I wasn’t even in a position where that was being offered, and I refused,” he said.
Obi served as Atiku’s running mate on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket in the 2019 presidential election. The two politicians later parted ways, with Obi contesting the 2023 election on the platform of the Labour Party while Atiku remained the PDP candidate.
Despite the political differences, Obi said he would support an alliance capable of addressing Nigeria’s economic and social challenges.
“I want to be part of any coalition that will make Nigeria work. That will make Nigeria productive. That will create jobs for the young ones. That will pull people out of poverty. That will make education work,” he said.
He listed national unity, the rule of law, accountable leadership, education, healthcare and job creation among the priorities such an alliance should pursue.
Meanwhile, Obi said the NDC was developing a system that would independently transmit results from polling units to its situation room during the 2027 election.
He said the arrangement would operate alongside the official transmission of results to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), allowing the party to independently verify results declared at polling units.
“We must make sure that at every polling unit, the votes are counted, the votes are recorded properly, the votes are transmitted properly, and we will even have a dual transmission so that as it is going to the proper, designated INEC portal, it is also being transmitted where the people can see it,” Obi said.
He said the initiative was aimed at preventing the emergence of results that were not generated at polling units.
“All we are saying is that this time around, we will make sure that in every polling unit, we must have a system that transmits to our own situation room the correct results. And I’m sure there are many other agencies that intend to do the same.
“So we are not going to have a situation where somebody just pronounces something that didn’t emanate from the polling unit. Our task is to make sure that the right things are done.”
INEC’s result-viewing portal, IReV, is designed to allow voters, political parties, candidates, observers and other stakeholders to view scanned copies of polling-unit result sheets uploaded by the commission.
The platform, however, came under intense scrutiny during the 2023 general election after results were not uploaded as promptly as many Nigerians had expected, despite earlier assurances by INEC that polling-unit results would be transmitted in real time.
Obi said the priority in 2027 should be to ensure that votes cast by Nigerians are accurately counted, transmitted and reflected in the final outcome.
“The election must be free and transparent,” he said, describing the contest as “not about parties” but “people versus the government”.
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