PRP Details Failed Alliance Talks With Obi, Kwankwaso
Opposition heavyweights Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso approached the Peoples Redemption Party seeking an automatic presidential ticket and sweeping control of party structures ahead of the 2027 elections, the party’s National Chairman, Dr Hakeem Baba Ahmed, has disclosed.
Speaking during a Hausa political programme on DITV Kaduna on Tuesday, Baba Ahmed provided a detailed account of the negotiations that ultimately failed. “They came and said they wanted to join the PRP, but when we sat down and discussed with them, there were certain demands they made,” he stated, as reported by The Punch and several other publications.
According to the PRP chairman, the central sticking point was the insistence by Obi and Kwankwaso that the party’s presidential ticket be handed to them without internal competition. “Before they joined, they told us that they were the presidential candidates, meaning they should be given the ticket. We told them no, this is PRP; we do not practice that kind of politics,” Baba Ahmed explained.
He further revealed that the party demanded both politicians first become formal members and comply with constitutional processes before seeking any elective position. “I told them: first come into the party. After joining, you can then tell me, ‘I am Obi, and I want to run for President,’ and ‘I am Kwankwaso, and I want to be his running mate.’ But for you to come even before a decision is made and ask us to guarantee you the ticket without opposition — if you are truly strong contenders, then why fear competition?” he asked.
Beyond the presidential ticket, both camps also requested a significant share of party positions. “They requested that many positions be given to them because they said they had many supporters. We told them this was not a problem — come into the party first, then we can sit down and discuss,” Baba Ahmed said.
Two additional factors contributed to the breakdown of talks. The PRP chairman acknowledged that concerns about the party’s registration status on the Independent National Electoral Commission portal, as well as internal disputes, unsettled the visiting politicians. “They said when they checked the INEC portal, they could not find our party’s name there, which has been addressed. But they also heard some people falsely claiming to be PRP members, which they felt could create confusion if they joined the party. We told them we are doing our best to address that too,” he explained, as reported by Daily Trust.
The portal issue has since been resolved. On May 1, 2026, INEC updated its official records to reflect Baba Ahmed as the National Chairman of the PRP, alongside other newly elected members of the National Working Committee following the party’s national convention held in Abuja on March 28, 2026. The Punch reported that the update came barely 24 hours after public outcry over the omission of the new executives from the commission’s records.
The PRP, one of Nigeria’s oldest surviving political parties, continues to navigate internal factional tensions. A group operating as the PRP Vanguard Collective had earlier rejected the convention that produced Baba Ahmed, describing it as illegal and a betrayal of the party’s founding socialist ideals. The faction’s leader, Abdulmajid Yakubu Daudus, alleged that the new leadership was attempting to turn the PRP into a platform for “discredited politicians” from other opposition parties.
Baba Ahmed, a former Special Adviser on Political Matters to Vice President Kashim Shettima, resigned in April 2025 and returned to active partisan politics before emerging as the PRP’s national chairman.
Despite the collapse of discussions, Baba Ahmed insisted both sides parted peacefully. “We wished each other well and parted peacefully — there was no quarrel or fight,” he said.
The failed negotiations come amid a turbulent opposition realignment ahead of 2027. Obi formally declared for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in February 2026 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Both he and Kwankwaso later defected from the ADC to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in early May 2026, with Kwankwaso publicly backing the NDC’s decision to zone its presidential ticket to the South. The PRP, meanwhile, has already seen a presidential aspirant emerge: Engr. Dr. Yakubu Muhammad Kingsly picked the party’s nomination form on May 7, 2026.