The camps of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, have responded to criticisms from former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George and former Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, over the newly formed coalition ahead of the 2027 election.

Both George and Shekarau faulted the formation of the coalition and the idea of a mega party to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress in 2027, saying the move was driven by personal ambition.

They also raised concerns over the emerging alliance of opposition figures aspiring for the positions of President or vice president respectively, rather than a structured political coalition.

The criticism came three days after Atiku, Obi, ex-Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai and others announced the formation of the coalition at a press conference in Abuja.

The official unveiling of the coalition ended weeks of speculations and uncertainty over the existence of such arrangement.

It also came on the heels of El-Rufai?s defection from the APC to the Social Democratic Party on March 10.

Other opposition leaders present at the press conference included a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; Obi?s media aide and Coordinator, Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko, National Secretary, Coalition of United Political Parties, Peter Ahmeh; and the Convener of the Alternative, Segun Showunmi, among others.

Among those involved in the coalition, but whose apologies for absence were noted, were leaders from the ruling APC, including former governors Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); and the immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Adamu, among others.

Reacting, Atiku said they were not bothered by the criticisms from Shekarau and George.

The former Vice President, who was represented by his media aide, Paul Ibe, told The PUNCH in an exclusive interview that the coalition had started making progress and won?t be distracted by criticisms.

?The coalition train has left the station. It?s going to stop at the stopovers and people are going to get on board it. If Bode George and Shekarau want to get on board, they are at liberty to do so. Otherwise, they should just keep quiet.

?People like Bode George don?t know anything about the coalition. He knows nothing about it. So, he cannot speak to what he doesn?t know,? he stated.

Tanko, who spoke on behalf of Obi, stated, ?We have coalesced and made our position known. As regards the issue on Rivers State, we have made our pronouncement. We are out for nation-building. If they have their own views and they are supporting what happens, that?s clear to Nigerians. But we are against it and have made our position known.

?Of course, you can see in all of the things that we had discussed when we had that presentation. They are all part of the conversation and you can see we are talking to each other.?

When asked if the talk of a mega party has commenced, the politician said Nigerians would be informed when that was done.

He said, ?We should wait till when that particular announcement will be made known to everyone. I have said it before, when it?s time for that particular announcement to be made, it will be made.?

A former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the APC, Mallam Salihu Lukman, said the coalition was necessary to rally the opposition to ensure the country doesn?t fall into a one-party state.

Lukman said with the way many political parties were battling internal wrangling and leadership crisis, the ruling APC may end up being the only party to contest the 2027 election.

He said, ?There are two sides to those statements. One, I can appreciate Bode George. George?s comment is coming from his optimism about believing that they can rescue the PDP. While in the case of Mallam Shekarau, on the other hand, it is simply contempt about the people who are part of the coalition.

?For many of us, I think it?s to appeal to everybody to understand that the country is at a critical stage because right now, where we are is that all the parties have been pushed into a state of oblivion, basically, a state of crisis that at the end, we may end up not having parties that will contest the election, except perhaps the APC.

?If it is about parties, the coalition has not yet been formed. What I think has been expressed is a reflection of the commitment of people to form the coalition and settle on a political party platform to contest the 2027 election. That is what is being negotiated now.?

When asked to confirm if there was a progression on the proposed mega party, Lukman replied, ?Who is talking about mega party? My understanding of whatever is a mega party is a party that will be able to be attractive to Nigerians, just like the APC was attractive in 2014-2015. So, we are going to get there. We are confident that we will settle all of that and get there. (The PUNCH)

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