The Labour Party has dismissed speculations that its 2027 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, could step down for any political coalition or rival aspirant, saying such a move would amount to betraying the hope of millions of Nigerians seeking change.

Reacting to ongoing debates over possible opposition alignments ahead of the next general election, the party’s Interim National Publicity Secretary, Tony Akeni, said withdrawing Obi from the race “is to take away 90 per cent of the hope of Nigerians for redemption and a new beginning.”

Akeni disclosed this in an interview with Saturday PUNCH.

“Forcing Peter Obi to withdraw from the race is to take away 90 per cent of the hope of Nigerians for redemption and a new beginning.

“So, I see a situation where we will all come together—stakeholders—and take the right decision at the right time. And that right time is still a little bit far away; it will be close to the primaries,” Akeni stated.

He maintained that neither Obi nor the ‘Obidient’ Movement would surrender their presidential bid, stressing that “our motto is forward ever, backwards never.”

“There is no substitute for the ideology of the Labour Party. And so, we are going head-on for the presidency if the right decision is not taken by the coalition,” Akeni said, while appealing to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to “prove his love for the country by doing the right thing and giving Peter Obi a chance in 2027.”

According to him, “Let Atiku think of what is best for his epitaph. Would he like to be remembered as the man who sacrificed Nigeria for his ambition, yet didn’t get it, or the man who sacrificed his ambition for Nigeria and took it from the cliff to the pathway of modern progress and advancement?”

Akeni noted that the “AGOBI’27 (Atiku Givus Obi 2027)” coalition was formed by some stakeholders to appeal to Atiku’s conscience and convince him to support Obi’s candidacy as a unifying option for the opposition.

Also speaking, the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Dr Yunusa Tanko, reaffirmed that the 2027 presidency should remain in the South under Nigeria’s informal rotational arrangement.

“The democracy we practise in Nigeria, as we constitutionally agreed, should be rotated between the North and the South. As we speak today, it is still the turn of the South, whether we like it or not.

“And so, if you want to change a southern candidate, you can only replace him with another southern candidate,” Tanko said.

He warned that any attempt to return power to the North in 2027 “will create a break in the unity of this country,” urging all parties to cooperate in producing a “southern candidate acceptable to all.”

Tanko said the movement remains firm in its belief that “Peter Obi is the best product to present to the Nigerian political circle,” adding that the group is not considering any alternative.

“We believe he has the quality, capacity, ability, character, and compassion to make things work. But one thing is key: wherever Mr Peter Obi is going, we will go too,” he said.

The remarks come barely a week after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar denied reports that he planned to step down for any aspirant ahead of the 2027 elections.

Atiku, in a statement issued by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, described such claims as a distortion of his BBC Hausa interview, insisting he merely said he would support a younger candidate if such a person emerged through a transparent party primary.

“What Atiku Abubakar clearly and unambiguously said was that young people, as well as other prospective presidential aspirants, are free to enter the contest,” the statement clarified.

The former vice president had told the BBC Hausa Service: “If I run for office and a young man defeats me, I will accept that. The party we have joined now prioritises youth and women.”

The clarification, however, has done little to douse growing speculation over a possible opposition alliance between Atiku and Obi, who both ran on separate platforms in the 2023 presidential election.

In recent times, there have been talks among opposition figures about fielding a sellable and unifying candidate strong enough to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.

The aim is to avoid a repeat of the 2023 scenario where multiple opposition candidates split votes, a factor many analysts believe paved the way for Tinubu’s victory.

While Atiku and Obi remain central to the talks, both camps have yet to formally commit to a joint ticket.