Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential contender, met with former President Goodluck Jonathan behind closed doors in Abuja on Thursday.
Details revealed by Peter Obi on his X account indicate that the two leaders’ encounter took place behind closed doors.
He continued by saying that they had productive talks about the situation in Nigeria.
“I met with my very dear elder brother, former President Goodluck Jonathan @GEJonathan, today in Abuja. He is a statesman and leader.” “We had a productive meeting behind closed doors and talked about the situation of our beloved country,” Obi wrote.
The two are meeting amid rumors that Jonathan is thinking about running for president in 2027, according to the newspaper.
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In an attempt to build a broad coalition capable of opposing the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu, Jonathan’s supporters have reportedly started contacting opposition leaders, such as Peter Obi of the Labour Party, in advance of the 2027 presidential election.
The 2027 race is becoming increasingly all-Southern, with the PDP zoning its presidential ticket to the South and the APC hierarchy already supporting Tinubu for reelection.
According to party officials who spoke to Vanguard, Jonathan has been under increasing pressure to enter the race by leading PDP figures, especially those from the North.
Prior to Jonathan’s name coming up again, a number of PDP leaders had also urged Obi to rejoin the party following his 2022 defection to the LP, where he became the flagbearer for the presidency.
In addition to supporting the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition, which includes a number of well-known individuals such as former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, former Senate President David Mark, former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Obi has remained one of the harshest critics of the Tinubu administration.
In response to repeated questions about whether he would join the ADC or rejoin the PDP, Obi insisted that he was dedicated to “any move that will save the country from the APC.”
Amaechi and Seyi Makinde, the governor of Oyo State, are among the other Southern politicians who are allegedly considering a confrontation with Tinubu.
Jonathan’s camp has initiated exploratory talks with important candidates, such as Obi, encouraging him to resign in favor of the former president, according to sources who spoke to Vanguard on Sunday.
