The Labour Party has declared its readiness to win the 2027 presidential election without the need for a coalition, citing its strong grassroots support and appeal to Nigerians.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, made this known during an interview on Sunday, dismissing rumours of a coalition involving Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“As it stands, Labour Party has not been approached or invited to any meeting whatsoever to discuss a coalition. What we see already is that people are thinking of alternatives and how best elections can be won in a landslide against the ruling APC,” Ifoh stated.
He added, “Labour Party didn’t need any coalition in 2023 when it gathered millions of votes from Nigerians who wanted Labour Party to take over the leadership of the nation. We will continue to say that the system played a trick on both Nigerians and Labour Party.
“We know LP has what it takes to win elections at the highest level and we demonstrated that in 2023. If elections were to hold again today, Labour Party would even do it in a bigger way because the government of the day has failed. Everything that Labour Party stands for and canvassed in 2023 is what Nigeria needs at the moment. So we do not even really need a coalition to win the election.”
Ifoh, however, did not entirely dismiss the possibility of a coalition, noting that the party might consider it if approached with favourable terms.
“The idea of a coalition is not bad. If Labour Party is approached, the party will look into it to scrutinise the merits and its demerits. Again, we only see individuals talking. The opposition parties have not called for any meeting or taken the initiative for discussion until when the time comes,” he explained.
Ifoh’s comments come amid speculation of a possible coalition between the LP, PDP, and NNPP ahead of the 2027 elections. These rumours, however, have been publicly dismissed by both Kwankwaso and LP presidential candidate Peter Obi.
In a BBC Hausa interview last week, Kwankwaso clarified, “I have not communicated with either Atiku or Obi,” maintaining that he had remained neutral throughout the past year. Similarly, Obi, during a press conference on Friday, stated, “I am not a party to any arrangement of this nature.”
Reacting to the situation, the acting National Chairman of the PDP, Umar Damagum, argued that a merger would be essential to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress in 2027 but emphasised the necessity of including the PDP in such plans.
He said, “The PDP is the only party that has consistently won elections without being in power. Senator Kwankwaso may have left, but how many states did he win with his new party? The facts speak for themselves.
“For over two decades, the PDP has remained steadfast, maintaining its identity and producing governors and lawmakers in every part of the country. Even if four parties merge without the PDP, they cannot win an election. We’ve seen this play out repeatedly. Where are those parties now? Even their alliances with other parties have not delivered the desired results.”
