Last Sunday, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, paid a Sallah visit to Kwankwasiyya Movement leader Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso in Kano — a meeting that has reignited talk of an opposition alliance ahead of 2027.
Dr Yunusa Tanko, coordinator of the Obidient Movement, posted on X that the two leaders discussed “strategising for our collective interest to make Nigeria work again for all of us.” The optics have fueled fresh speculation that the pair may revisit the coalition that failed to materialise before the last election, when separate bids arguably split the opposition vote.
Hardtalk International Magazine recalls the backdrop: in 2023, Obi rode a youth-driven “Obidient” wave under Labour, while Kwankwaso commanded a strong Kwankwasiyya/NNPP base in the North. Alliance talks collapsed over power-sharing, party supremacy and who would lead the ticket. Both ran separately; Bola Tinubu of the APC won a tight race.
Analysts see the Kano meeting as unfinished business — a quiet restart of conversations that didn’t land last time.
Fresh momentum is also linked to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s reported push to unite younger opposition figures. Arise News politics editor Sumner Sambo said Obasanjo set up a committee in December that has engaged both camps. According to Sambo, NNPP National Legal Adviser Magaji Mato confirmed contact and noted growing pressure in Kano for Kwankwaso to consider a broader coalition involving major opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar and Rotimi Amaechi.
Mato framed an Obi–Kwankwaso pairing as a younger, tested alternative Nigerians have long wanted: “People have always longed to have Kwankwaso and Obi coming up together… stronger in health and capacity to lead.” He described public reaction to Obi’s visit as “overwhelming,” suggesting strong grassroots appetite for the alliance.
Tanko said talks have been ongoing since 2023 and could widen beyond the two men. “If the Obidient and Kwankwasiyya groups work together as a team, it will give us a lot of mileage,” he told Daily Post, adding that current hardship has deepened calls for a shift from the status quo.
Public affairs analyst Nduka Odo (Peaceland University, Enugu) called the meeting “four years late” but “the only light in the tunnel” for the opposition, given defections to the APC and the PDP’s uncertain footing. He argued Tinubu’s government has handed the opposition ample campaign material — high FX rates, fuel above N1,400 (from N200), worsening insecurity, and a cost-of-living crisis — and said success will hinge on sincerity and organisation: “Do they really desire to form a formidable force? Their answers will determine how far they can go.”
