Babachir Lawal has disclosed that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar once sent him to persuade Peter Obi to accept the vice-presidential slot under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), made the disclosure during an interview with Diaspora Digital Media while recounting events that preceded the collapse of the opposition coalition involving Atiku, Obi and other political figures.
According to him, Atiku wanted Obi to return to the political arrangement and serve as his running mate on the ADC platform.
Lawal said the proposal went beyond simply having Obi serve as vice president.
He claimed Atiku had a broader political plan involving constitutional amendments that would change the presidential system from the existing two-term arrangement to a single six-year tenure.
He said the arrangement would allow Atiku to serve for four years before the Constitution was amended to introduce a single six-year presidential term.
Lawal said he was personally assigned by Atiku to take the proposal to Obi.
“After sometime of working with him(Atiku), he sent me on a mission. They say you have influence against Peter Obi, I want Peter Obi to come back and be my vice presidential candidate. We will do presidency four years, withing those our years, I will amend the constitution to make presidency six year term. Single term of six years and then we put rotation into the constitution so there’s no more dispute and we start from the southeast.”
He further recounted his meeting with Obi, saying he travelled to meet the former Anambra State governor despite the heavy rain that day.
“I went and met Peter. It was raining that day. Peter didn’t even want me to come because it was raining that day. I woke my driver and my security up and we drove in the rain. And then I told Peter, I’m on a mission of this and this and that, and then he said he didn’t like the idea very much”
Lawal’s account gives further details about the political discussions that took place while opposition figures were trying to build a common platform ahead of the 2027 election.
Atiku, Obi and other opposition leaders had initially been part of the coalition that adopted the ADC as a platform for the 2027 election.
The arrangement later suffered a major split. Atiku eventually emerged as the ADC presidential candidate, while Obi moved to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), where he became the presidential candidate.
The disagreement also affected Lawal’s relationship with the ADC.
Lawal resigned from the party in June 2026 after the ADC presidential primary that produced Atiku as its candidate.
He alleged that the primary process had been manipulated in favour of the former vice president.
Atiku’s camp rejected the allegations and described Lawal’s position as unfounded.
At the ADC presidential primary, Atiku was declared the winner ahead of former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi and former FSB International Bank managing director Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.
The party later selected Amaechi as Atiku’s running mate for the 2027 presidential election.
The development effectively ended speculation that Obi could return to the ADC as Atiku’s running mate.
Obi has also publicly addressed claims that he rejected an offer from Atiku to become his running mate.
In a September 2026 interview with Arise TV, Obi said he was not in a position where such an offer had been formally made to him.
“I don’t know where that was said. I wasn’t even in a position where that was being offered, and I refused,” Obi said.
Atiku remained with the ADC and secured the party’s presidential ticket, while Obi joined the NDC and was later paired with former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The NDC announced Obi as its presidential candidate and Kwankwaso as his running mate in May 2026.
Lawal, who had previously been associated with the ADC, has since moved to the NDC.
Politics Nigeria reports that the former SGF was unveiled as a member of the NDC in September 2026 and publicly backed the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket.
At the event, Lawal urged Nigerians to support the NDC ticket, citing issues including insecurity, economic hardship, hunger and other challenges confronting the country.
