The realignment of political forces ahead of the next presidential election under the auspices of Coalition 2027 appears to have made some inroads in the Niger Delta as its promoters have enlisted the support of strategic stakeholders in the region, it was exclusively gathered over the weekend.
Although they had yet to leave the opposition Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and immediate past governor of Sokoto State (now a serving senator) Aminu Waziri Tambuwal are leading prominent northern politicians in an effort to forge a political coalition against President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential race.
Also playing a prominent role in this regard is the immediate past governor of Kaduna State Nasir el-Rufai who had since dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) for the Social Democratic Party(SDP).
However, the presidency has dismissed the antics of the coalition movement ahead of 2027, stressing that the president is focused on the ongoing efforts to turn around the nation’s economic fortunes for the benefit of Nigerians.
The senior special assistant to the president on Media and Communication (office of the vice president), Stanley Nkwocha, said the attempts by the “despairing power grabbers” to instigate crisis within the presidency would not give them victory in the 2027 elections.
The trio of Atiku, El-Rufai, and Tambuwal have intensified their efforts toward a coalition against Tinubu amid the rejection of the same by the governors and elders of the PDP.
Their recent visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari, largely seen as a ploy to remove the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc from the APC, has come under serious scrutiny and opposition from APC’s national leadership.
Undeterred, the coalition’s leadership, it was learnt, reached out to prominent Ijaw sons and daughters at the weekend to discuss the need to work together to oust the present government in 2027.
According to a source familiar with the moves, even though there were initial “political conversations around the need for further change,” the discussions reached a climax with the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
The state of emergency declared by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, which was widely condemned as unconstitutional, led to the suspension of the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, an Ijaw man from Opobo, his deputy, and the State Assembly.
The entire Ijaw ethnic nationality had voiced opposition to the state of emergency in the oil-rich state, especially the suspension of the governor from office.
Buoyed by this development, the former vice president (Atiku) was said to have contacted two former heads of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, who in turn contacted some political leaders across the Ijaw ethnic nationality to join the coalition against President Tinubu.
The duo of former PAP heads have already been appointed to the Atiku-led coalition’s contact and mobilisation committee, it was learnt.
Others enlisted into the conversation are prominent former warlords who dropped their arms in 2009 under the late president, Umaru Musa Yar’adua.
It was gathered that three of these ex-militant leaders had been assigned the responsibility of mobilising for the coalition in Rivers, Bayelsa, and Edo/Ondo states, respectively.
It was learnt that three ex-militant leaders assigned with the mobilisation responsibilities are at loggerheads with the founder of the now disbanded Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Chief Government Ekpomupolo, otherwise known as Tompolo, over the pipeline surveillance contracts.
“Whether we like it or not, there is no way any government can be put in place without the votes of the Ijaw ethnic nationality. No one can ignore our votes because we know our electoral value in Nigeria.
“The next presidential election is going to be an eye opener for all – that no one can toy with our over six million votes across the Niger Delta. The mobilisation has commenced already. Initially, we were lethargic, but with the ordeal of the Rivers governor, an Ijaw man, we have resolved to work with the coalition to teach the APC a lesson come 2027.
“We cannot fold our arms and allow one individual to manipulate our future because of his inordinate ambition. Unfortunately, all those who ought to speak up are quiet because of the patronage they enjoy from the current system. They are silent because they appear to have everything, to the exclusion of other stakeholders like them,” the source said.
Confirming the evolving alliance between the coalition and political actors in the region, a top aide to former vice president Timi Frank told LEADERSHIP that the coalition movement is making strong inroads in the Niger Delta and South-South.
Frank, who hails from Bayelsa State, said, “Yes, it is true. There is a strong reaching out to leaders in the South South, and even other parts of the country. It’s a strong movement and it will shock the ruling party by the time we complete the consultations and make it formally public.”
He added that many top politicians across the southern part of the country are also aligned with the movement, adding, “People are just tired of this administration.”
When asked about the potency of the political actors on the president’s side in the region, he said, “They don’t have credibility anymore. They have since lost the credibility of the people. They are seen to have betrayed the people, which they have. It is the people who are hungry, not those ones in power.
“They only know how to steal elections by writing results or buying votes. But the people are very vigilant now. They will not be able to steal votes this time around because the people are fed up and vigilant,” Frank said.
Speaking on the coalition movement, Nkwocha said, “Let me make it categorically clear that neither President Tinubu nor his deputy, Senator Shettima, is bothered about 2027 politics for now. At the moment, they are focused on the pressing issues of governance.
“What is paramount to them are ongoing efforts to turn around the nation’s economic fortunes for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
“Vice President Shettima, in particular, is more concerned about programmes and strategic government interventions that will actualise the policies and vision of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, and he has been working round the clock to give his principal the maximum support he needs to move the nation forward.
“If at all there is anything the presidency is considering regarding the next election, it is how these policies and programmes would impact positively on the lives of the citizens who are the ones to cross-check properly whether President Tinubu deserves a second term or not.
“You can agree with me that the administration has done a lot in wriggling the nation out of the economic morass it was hitherto enmeshed in. Recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) declared an unsurpassed surplus of $6.83 billion for the 2024 fiscal year. This shows that President Tinubu’s economic reforms are yielding significant results.”
Nkwocha described President Tinubu as a very significant and exceptional leader in Nigeria’s democratic history and said the gang-up to unseat him at the next polls would fail.
“This brazen attempt by entitled and despairing power grabbers to instigate a crisis within the presidency in furtherance of their political ambitions is a disservice to Nigeria and Nigerians and is not what will give them victory in 2027,” he added.
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