The national leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), under the guidance of Senator Seriake Dickson, officially presented former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections on Saturday.
Following his confirmation as the NDC’s flagbearer, Obi, who led the Labour Party’s ticket in the 2023 elections, named former Kano State Governor and former Minister of Defence, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as his vice-presidential running mate.
This major announcement follows closely on the heels of President Bola Tinubu securing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket.
Tinubu won a landslide victory during the party’s nationwide direct primary, which took place across all 8,809 wards in the country’s 774 local government areas. In that contest, Tinubu secured 10,999,162 votes, comfortably defeating businessman Stanley Osifo, who received 16,503 votes.
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Meanwhile, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar clinched the presidential primary for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Wednesday. According to the ADC, Atiku received 1,846,370 votes, defeating his runner-up, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who secured 504,117 votes.
Both Atiku and Obi originally joined the ADC in July 2025 as part of a coalition of prominent opposition figures seeking to challenge President Tinubu and the APC in the 2027 elections. However, Obi and Kwankwaso ultimately defected to the NDC.
With Obi’s formal emergence, the stage is set for a major political showdown on January 16, 2027, as he goes head-to-head against Tinubu and Atiku for the presidency.
The arrival of Obi and Kwankwaso has quickly elevated the NDC into a dominant opposition force, fueled by the merging of their respective political bases, the Obidient Movement and the Kwankwasiyya Movement.
Hailing from Nigeria’s South East region, Obi has stated publicly on several occasions that he intends to serve for only a single term if elected. This pledge has drawn criticism, particularly from the ruling APC.
In the February 2023 presidential election, Obi finished in third place with 6.10 million votes (25.40 per cent).
He trailed behind Atiku, who ran under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) banner and secured 6.98 million votes (29.07 per cent), and the ultimate winner, Tinubu, who garnered 8.79 million votes (36.61 per cent).
