Former Anambra State governor and presidential aspirant of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has dismissed suggestions that he is avoiding former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Obi spoke on Friday in Cape Town, South Africa, on the sidelines of the Spier Dialogue 2026, a pan-African governance forum.
He said Atiku remained one of the people closest to him politically and personally.
Obi said he had no reason to run away from the former Vice-President, whom he described as a respected leader.
He further stated, “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.
“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.”
Obi and Atiku had earlier adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a coalition platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.
Obi formally joined the ADC on January 1, 2026, with Atiku welcoming the move and describing it as a landmark moment in Nigerian political coalition-building.
The alliance, however, later collapsed. On his way out of the ADC, Obi said his decision was not based on personal issues with Atiku or the party chairman, David Mark.
Obi and former Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, later defected to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), where they called for an end to litigation-driven politics.