The Director-General of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential Campaign Council, Ibrahim Abdulkarim, has urged the presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, to drop his ambition and back Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 election.
Abdulkarim said opposition leaders needed to unite behind a common platform to improve their chances of defeating the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He cited NDC presidential candidate Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as examples of opposition figures who had agreed to work together.
Speaking on Arise News, the NDC campaign chief said the opposition coalition could be built under the NDC rather than the ADC.
“The opposition has to come together for us to win. The opposition have already come together. Nobody said the coalition must happen on ADC. It can happen in NDC, and Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has already dropped his ambition,” he said.
Abdulkarim said Atiku and other opposition figures were welcome to join the alliance to strengthen its national reach.
“What we are asking for is for other people to join us, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, to join all of us, so at least we will have the spread that they think they can add,” he added.
The NDC campaign chief also dismissed concerns about the party’s campaign structures, arguing that the party should not be compared with the Obidient movement and other support groups backing Obi.
“How can you compare a party with a support group? We don’t have any problem. They’re all part of the NDC party. We have more than a thousand support groups like that,” he said.
On concerns about electoral fraud, Abdulkarim urged Nigerians who feared their votes might not count to support the NDC, saying the party had developed measures to protect votes during the 2027 elections.
He said the party would campaign peacefully across the country and mobilise voters who had lost confidence in the electoral process.
“We are going to do our campaign peacefully. We are going to go into every corner,” he said.
Abdulkarim added that the party had a programme to reassure voters that their votes would count.
“I can promise anybody, anybody that feels he wants his vote to count, we have a very, very unique and serious programme that we have put in place,” he said.
Meanwhile, the NDC has appointed Ifeanyi Ibezi, a former member of the House of Representatives and an ally of Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo, as its campaign coordinator in the state.
Ibezi, who had been a prominent figure in Soludo’s All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), recently defected to the NDC at a rally attended by a large crowd.
His appointment comes as the party seeks to strengthen its campaign in Anambra, the home state of its presidential candidate, Obi.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Ibezi called on party members and supporters to mobilise voters across the state, stressing that merely winning Anambra was not enough.
“Anambra occupies a peculiar place in this campaign. As the home state of our presidential candidate, His Excellency, Mr Peter Obi, the expectations are understandably high, and we must rise to meet them.
“Our responsibility goes beyond securing victory; we must work to ensure that Anambra delivers a resounding mandate, reflected in the strength and number of valid votes cast for Mr Peter Obi,” he said.
Ibezi said the campaign must reach undecided voters, those who felt neglected and Nigerians who had lost confidence in the electoral process.
“We must reach those who are undecided, those who feel left behind, those who have grown weary of the system, and those who have withdrawn from the electoral process because they no longer believe their votes can make a difference.
“We must listen to them, earn their confidence, and remind them that the future of our country is too important to be surrendered to apathy. The work has begun, and there is no room for complacency,” he added.
The NDC campaign coordinator said the party planned to take its campaign to all 21 local government areas, 326 wards and 5,720 polling units in Anambra State.
He also listed markets, churches and households as key targets for the mobilisation drive, adding that the party would focus on encouraging voter participation and ensuring that valid votes counted.
“Our objective is clear: to mobilise the people, secure their participation, and translate their aspirations into votes at the polls. We must also ensure that every valid vote counts and that the democratic process reflects the will of the people,” Ibezi said.
