I Won’t Join Atiku, Obi’s Coalition – Ex-Presidential Candidate Declares

Former presidential candidate and convener of the Take-It-Back Movement, Omoyele Sowore, has ruled out the possibility of joining any political coalition involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 general election.

Speaking during an interview on Arise TV’s Politics Today, Sowore rejected any alliance with the two opposition leaders or their parties, dismissing such moves as a recycled strategy that previously failed the country.

“I’m not joining any coalition. The coalition that they joined in 2013 and 2015 is what brought about the APC, so joining another coalition in 2025 is doing the same thing all over again without thinking of achieving the same set of results,” he said.

Sowore, who contested the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections under the African Action Congress (AAC), where he garnered 14,608 votes in the last outing, stated that his focus remained on aligning with marginalized Nigerians rather than political elites.

“The coalition that needs to be built is that of the oppressed. Joining another coalition that is made up of the same people who were the ones that created the coalition that ruined Nigeria—it’s an injustice and an injury to the people of Nigeria,” he declared.

“So you can never see me in their coalition and I will never be part of it. I’m not joining the SDP, I’m not part of those playing chess with the destiny of Nigerians.”

Sowore’s comments come amid growing speculation about a possible mega opposition alliance, reportedly being championed by Atiku, Obi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, with the aim of unseating President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

Atiku had earlier confirmed the formation of the coalition during a press conference organized by Concerned Leaders and Political Stakeholders in Nigeria.