The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has identified Peter Obi as the strongest southern candidate to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election, as reported by PUNCH.
CUPP National Secretary, Peter Ameh, urged northern leaders in the coalition to choose a credible running mate to strengthen their chances.
Ameh dismissed speculation that Nasir El-Rufai’s move to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) influenced the coalition’s decisions.
He said El-Rufai’s defection was a personal choice and not linked to the broader opposition strategy, however, he acknowledged that El-Rufai might be trying to bring the SDP into the coalition.
He stated that the opposition needed strong northern leaders to mobilize voters and warned that selecting a weak or unknown candidate would hurt their chances against Tinubu.
According to Ameh, only a combination of Obi and a well-respected northern running mate could unite the opposition and win in 2027.
He also stressed the importance of choosing candidates with proven political support, stating that anything otherwise will be catastrophic for the opposition.
“If the intent and purpose of those who are discussing the coalition today is to defeat Tinubu, they have only one choice: a southern candidate and that is Obi.”
“So, the North should come up with a running mate. You cannot put people who have not been tried on the ballot. You cannot put people who have no support base and expect them to win. Anything otherwise will be catastrophic for the opposition,” he said.
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