Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi’s 6.1 million votes in 2023 offer a benchmark for Nigeria’s 2027 race, but do not show voter support after his move to a new party.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recorded 6,101,533 votes for Obi in 2023, compared with 8,794,726 for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and 6,984,520 for 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) said Obi formally joined on Dec. 31, 2025, after running for president as the Labour Party candidate. His earlier total records one election under a different party banner; it does not establish how voters would respond to him on the ADC platform.
Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike’s Rainbow Coalition endorsed Tinubu for a second term and presented candidates for Rivers State contests at an event in Port Harcourt Tuesday, Oct. 27. Wike said the coalition aimed to “bring people from all the various political parties together to support Tinubu.” Rivers State Gov. Siminalayi Fubara affirmed Wike’s leadership, saying, “I’m not your leader. Wike is your leader.”
The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), a group of All Progressives Congress (APC) governors, set out a separate commitment on Sept. 14. Imo State Gov. Hope Uzodimma, the forum’s chairman, read a resolution saying members would not participate in, support or endorse political arrangements capable of undermining Tinubu’s re-election bid, weakening the APC or harming its candidates. The forum also said its campaign commitment would be exclusively to APC candidates.
The stated positions reflect different priorities within Tinubu’s support base: the coalition seeks to gather backing across party lines, while the governors’ resolution centers on APC candidates in contests at every level.
INEC has scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for Jan. 16, 2027, followed by governorship and State House of Assembly elections on Feb. 6.
