As the political race for the 2027 general elections heats up, Senate Minority Leader and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Abba Moro, has hinted at the possible return of Peter Obi and former President Goodluck Jonathan to the party and their potential involvement in the presidential race.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Senator Moro confirmed that discussions are ongoing within the PDP regarding efforts to bring both political heavyweights back into the party ahead of 2027.
“In the run-up to 2027, I am aware certain individuals have been talking to Peter Obi: ‘Hey, come back home. This is what we are likely to do. And if you come, you stand a chance of being the candidate,’” Moro said during the interview.
When asked about the possibility of ex-President Jonathan returning to the PDP fold, the lawmaker representing Benue South responded: “Some persons are talking to the former president to come and run. It is a possibility.”
Background: Jonathan’s political silence since 2015
Jonathan, who served as Nigeria’s president from 2010 to 2015 under the PDP, has largely remained politically quiet since leaving office. He became president following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010 and was elected in his own right in 2011.
However, his 2015 re-election bid was unsuccessful, as he lost to Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), making him the first incumbent Nigerian president to be defeated at the polls since the return to democracy in 1999.
Since then, Jonathan has kept a low political profile and has not been actively involved in PDP activities. While there have been calls for his return to frontline politics, he has neither declared an interest in running nor publicly resigned from the PDP.
Obi’s journey from PDP to Labour Party and possibly back?
Unlike Jonathan, Peter Obi had a more recent and high-profile break with the PDP. He was the party’s vice presidential candidate in 2019, running alongside Atiku Abubakar. However, in the build-up to the 2023 elections, he left the PDP and joined the Labour Party (LP), where he emerged as its presidential candidate.
Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, captured the imagination of Nigeria’s youth and urban voters, finishing third in the presidential race with over six million votes, behind President Bola Tinubu of the APC and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.
With less than two years to the next general election, Obi has expressed renewed interest in contesting for the presidency. However, it remains unclear under which platform he intends to run. He has recently been seen aligning with other opposition figures, including Atiku, under a proposed coalition involving the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other parties.
