Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the 2023 Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Lagos State, says a political alliance between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has the potential to oust President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.

Speaking on Lunchtime Politics, a Channels Television programme on Tuesday, Rhodes-Vivour stressed the importance of opposition unity, warning that a repeat of the divided votes that defined the 2023 presidential election would only strengthen the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“The only way that we can move this country forward in terms of the opposition is to come together. We cannot afford to divide our votes again,” he said.
“Add Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s votes to His Excellency Peter Obi’s votes they’ll completely take out the current sitting President.”

In the 2023 poll, Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes to emerge winner. Atiku, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), secured 6,984,520 votes, while Obi, the LP candidate, garnered 6,101,533 votes. Combined, Atiku and Obi had over 13 million votes, far more than Tinubu’s tally.

Many analysts and critics of the ruling APC argue that the fragmentation of opposition forces contributed to Tinubu’s victory. Atiku and Obi had previously run on a joint PDP ticket in 2019, with Obi as Atiku’s running mate.

Rhodes-Vivour revealed that fresh talks are ongoing to build a grand opposition coalition for 2027, with Atiku actively involved.

“The conversation now we are working to put a coalition together. We are going to hear announcements by tomorrow or next tomorrow, and everybody is coming together,” he said.
“That’s our main focus. At that point, we can then authoritatively say this is the party that we are going to run on.”

The Labour Party chieftain’s comments come amid growing speculation about a possible political alliance between Obi and Atiku, despite both men publicly denying any formal arrangement for now.