Peter Obi has denied claims suggesting he is avoiding former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Obi made the clarification on Friday night, May 22, while speaking in Cape Town during the Spier Dialogue 2026, a pan-African governance conference, amid growing speculation about his political relationship with Atiku.
Addressing the rumours, Obi said:
“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,” Obi said.
“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,” he added.
The comments come months after both politicians attempted to form a coalition ahead of the 2027 elections through the African Democratic Congress.
Obi officially joined the ADC on January 1, 2026, with Atiku publicly welcoming the move and describing it as a significant development for opposition unity against President Bola Tinubu.
However, the coalition later fell apart following internal disagreements and legal disputes within the party.
Obi later exited the ADC alongside Rabiu Kwankwaso to join the Nigeria Democratic Congress, maintaining that Nigeria needed to move away from what he described as litigation-driven politics.