Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has expressed strong doubts about the possibility of a political alliance between the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Olayinka, during an appearance on Arise Television, argued that Peter Obi would never agree to join a coalition tailored solely to serve Atiku’s presidential interest. He insisted that any such partnership would ultimately collapse under the weight of conflicting ambitions.
“The moment you are doing coalition, and that coalition is to support one person’s ambition. Who is talking about coalition Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and who is thinking about benefiting from coalition Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, how will coalition now work? The moment you are talking about coalition to benefit Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, coalition will not work,” Olayinka stated.
He further maintained that beyond personal ambitions, both political figures would struggle to agree on who should fly the coalition’s presidential flag in any future election.
“Is anything working in coalition today? It has failed before they even started with it. They will tell you that, Alhaji Atiku will run with Peter Obi. Will Peter Obi agree to run with Atiku Abubakar? Will Atiku allow Peter Obi to run as President under the coalition? Or will Peter Obi allow another person to be presented as candidate? These are the issues. It cannot work and it will not work,” he added.
