Peter Obi won’t join coalition that’s meant to benefit Atiku — Wike’s aide

Peter Obi won’t join coalition that’s meant to benefit Atiku  —  Wike’s aide

BY OLAIDE SHITTU

Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, has said that the coalition spearheaded by Atiku Abubakar is dead on arrival.

Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Thursday, said the coalition will not work because Peter Obi will not agree to a political association that’s designed to support Atiku’s presidential ambition.

Recall that in 2019, Atiku and Obi contested on a joint ticket as President and Vice Presidential candidates on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Four years later, they contested on different platforms as Obi dumped the PDP for the Labour Party ahead of the 2023 election.

However, as the 2027 election approaches, Atiku, who has been calling for the formation of a coalition to wrest power from Tinubu, has invited Obi and other opposition figures to join him in the campaign.

Recently, the former Vice President announced that the coalition would adopt a political platform that guarantees good governance to unseat President Tinubu.

However, Olayinka has maintained that Atiku’s push for the coalition is to realise his presidential ambition.

“The moment you are doing coalition, and that coalition is to support one person’s ambition. Who is talking about coalition Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and who is thinking about benefiting from coalition Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, how will coalition now work? The moment you are talking about coalition to to benefit Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, coalition will not work,” he said. 

Olayinka insisted that the coalition will not work because Atiku and Obi will not be able to agree on who the platform should present as its presidential candidate for the coming election.

“Is anything working in coalition today? It has failed before they even started with it. They will tell you that, Alhaji Atiku will run with Peter Obi. Will Peter Obi agree to run with Atiku Abubakar? Will Atiku allow Peter Obi to run as President under the coalition? Or will Peter Obi allow another person to be presented as candidate? These are the issues. It cannot work and it will not work,” he said.

The FCT minister’s aide concluded that the fact that the coalition has not fully formed with identifiable presidential and vice presidential candidates indicates that the agenda is dead on arrival.