Former Governors Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso have intensified moves to secure a joint presidential ticket on the platform of the African Democratic Congress by rallying northern leaders around a one-term power rotation deal, Sunday PUNCH has learnt.

Multiple party sources said the duo were pushing a “one-term” agenda to persuade key stakeholders in the North to back their alliance and shift support away from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the party’s primaries.

The renewed consultations, according to insiders, are part of a broader strategy by the two camps to consolidate northern backing for a southern presidency in 2027, with Obi projected to serve a single term if the arrangement succeeds.

Findings revealed that while the ADC is battling a leadership dispute and expecting judgment from the Supreme Court, presidential aspirants in the party have continued their consultations and mobilisation efforts.

Our correspondents gathered that Kwankwaso’s camp had intensified its movement in the last two weeks, meeting traditional rulers and other major stakeholders who had rejected President Bola Tinubu’s second term.

Sunday PUNCH learnt that the former governor’s men had been telling northern stakeholders to play fair politics by supporting the South to complete its eight years, warning that backing Atiku again might not favour the North’s future political prospects.

Kwankwaso and Obi’s camps had launched the joint ticket campaign even before the former Kano governor officially joined the ADC on March 30, 2026.

On April 20, supporters of the former governors inaugurated a group named the Obi–Kwankwaso Movement to drive their ticket ahead of the ADC primaries.

Meanwhile, Atiku, who served as Obasanjo’s vice president between 1999 and 2007, said the 2027 presidential election would be his final attempt at the presidency.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH on the Obi-Kwankwaso move in the North, an insider disclosed that Kwankwaso and Obi had penetrated many ADC and northern leaders and swayed them away from Atiku.

The ADC official added that some northern leaders supporting the opposition party had given Kwankwaso their word of support, against their initial plan to back Atiku.

He said, “What we’re canvassing is fairness; the South should be allowed to complete its eight years. The North completed its eight years before Tinubu took over power. While we have seen that Tinubu’s administration is a disaster, that should not rob the entire South of its deserved eight years. What we need is to elect another southerner as the next president in 2027, and that is why we are canvassing for Obi, who, luckily, has promised a one term.

“We have been convincing some northern leaders to accept Obi’s one-term proposal and support him. RMK (Kwankwaso) is working on this, and some of our leaders in the North have genuinely thrown their weight behind him.

“From our end, the committee set up by Obi and Kwankwaso on their joint ticket is making plans to formalise Obi’s one-term promise and make it public. Kwankwaso too is driving the one-term promise among northern leaders, but I think he needs to do more on Obi’s part to ensure that ‘an agreement is an agreement.’

“We want major northern stakeholders to see that he (Obi) is not playing games. But if he eventually becomes president and decides to renege on his agreement, we have the mechanism to remove him. The North has the voting bloc to do so. That is why some northern leaders prefer Goodluck Jonathan to contest, but the former president is reluctant to run.”

Similarly, a former member of the House of Representatives from Kwara State and a supporter of Atiku’s presidential ambition, who spoke with Sunday PUNCH on condition of anonymity, acknowledged the Obi-Kwankwaso move to convince northern leaders to support their plan.

The ex-lawmaker disclosed that Kwankwaso was the arrowhead of the mobilisation of northern leaders against Atiku, adding that the former governor planned to become president by 2031 if Obi fulfilled his one-term promise.

He said, “We know their every move, but no offence is taken. It is a normal political gimmick and we are all marketing our individual aspirants. But there will be a convergence in the next two to three weeks.

“Atiku is the biggest politician in the North and northern leaders are in his support, as they usually do. RMK is the one meeting northern leaders and trying to convince them to support the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket. He wants to be president in 2031 after Obi’s one-term, if he fulfils it.

“The good thing is that all the aspirants have agreed to work with whoever emerges as the party’s candidate. The most important thing is to sack Tinubu, and we are going to achieve that.”

The National Publicity Secretary of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Ladipo Johnson, who is an ally of Kwankwaso, declined to comment on the matter.

He said, “I am not competent to speak on that matter.”

However, the national spokesperson for the Coalition of United Political Parties, Mark Adebayo, and a chieftain of the ADC, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed that Atiku was facing mounting internal resistance within the ADC as southern presidential hopefuls intensify moves to block his path to the party’s 2027 ticket.

But Adebayo said he doubted Atiku could be outmanoeuvred in the race for the presidential ticket.

The ADC chieftain stated, “I am aware that there is a growing storm within the ADC, especially among southern aspirants who are trying to strike deals with northern heavyweights such as Rabiu Kwankwaso, former governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto) and even Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna). Their aim is to secure substantial delegate votes from the North and combine them with their support base in the South in a bid to challenge Atiku.

“Peter Obi is said to be working in that direction, while Rotimi Amaechi is also consulting widely to secure the backing of influential northern politicians within the ADC, hoping to split Atiku’s delegate votes in their favour.

“However, Atiku is also working round the clock. He positioned himself strongly within the ADC long ago, and the party’s existing structure appears to favour him at the moment.

“That said, party leaders will play a decisive role in the coming weeks through meetings, consultations, and efforts to reach a consensus. However, such a consensus may fail, given that some of the personalities involved are not known for stepping down easily for others. All indications, therefore, point to the ADC eventually conducting direct primaries. That is the situation as it stands.”

On his part, the CUPP spokesperson stated that even delegates from the South-East were likely to support Atiku in the ADC primary, adding that Obi made an error in joining the coalition.

Adebayo stated, “The simple truth is that they formed this coalition movement, but the reality is that Obi is looking for a bulwark against Atiku’s influence in the ADC so that there can be some kind of northern sympathy to support him at the party’s primary.

“But that alliance is still going to fail. It is not going to work because Atiku is deeply entrenched in the ADC. For me, Kwankwaso’s political influence is limited and not too strong outside Kano.”

When contacted, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, said consultations and permutations were allowed in a political party and that every individual or group was free to market its aspirant.

According to him, the ADC will strive to ensure that its candidate emerges through consensus.

“We will continue to preach unity and collective interest. As a party, we will ensure our candidate emerges through consensus,” he said.

Efforts to get a reaction from Atiku were unsuccessful, as his media aide, Paul Ibe, did not answer calls or respond to messages.

Similarly, the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, neither picked calls nor replied to messages as of the time of filing this report. (Sunday PUNCH)

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