I’m Not Running From Atiku — Obi

Former Anambra State governor and presidential aspirant under the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has dismissed claims that he is distancing himself from former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Obi made the clarification on Friday while speaking in Cape Town, South Africa, during the Spier Dialogue 2026, a pan-African governance and leadership forum.

Responding to questions about his political relationship with Atiku, Obi insisted that there was no personal rift between them and denied allegations that he had been avoiding the former vice-president.

“There are very few human beings who are as close as I am to Atiku. So I can’t be running from him. This man is my very respected leader and elder brother,” Obi said.

“I don’t run from him. Never. It has nothing to do with running from anybody. I’ve never run from anybody. I just believe that I do things differently,” he added.

The remarks come amid growing speculation over the strained political alliance between both leaders following recent developments in opposition coalition politics ahead of 2027.

Earlier in the year, Obi and Atiku had jointly embraced the African Democratic Congress as a coalition platform aimed at challenging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling APC in the next general election.

Obi officially joined the ADC on January 1, 2026, a move Atiku publicly welcomed, describing it as a significant moment in the effort to build a united opposition coalition in Nigeria.

However, the alliance later collapsed following internal disagreements within the party. Explaining his departure from the ADC, Obi said the decision was not based on personal differences with Atiku or the party’s national chairman, David Mark.

According to him, unresolved internal disputes and persistent litigation within the party had shifted focus away from pressing national issues.

Following the split, Obi and former Kano State governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso defected to the Nigeria Democratic Congress, where they called for an end to litigation-driven politics and advocated for a more issue-based political system ahead of the 2027 elections.