Ali Modu Sheriff Predicts Peter Obi’s Return to PDP Before 2027, ADC Dismisses Claim as Political Speculation
By Okafor Joseph | July 29, 2025 | SpringnewsNG Media Limited
Abuja, Nigeria – Former Borno State governor and ex-national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ali Modu Sheriff, has declared that Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, will return to the PDP before the 2027 general elections.
Sheriff made the claim on Channels Television’s Politics Today, asserting that Obi will eventually contest the next presidential election under the PDP platform.
“As far as this politics is concerned, ADC doesn’t exist. Give the party three months and it will fade away,” Sheriff said.
“The information available to me is that at any moment from now, Peter Obi will go back to PDP and run as a presidential candidate under PDP.”
Obi’s Political Journey and 2027 Speculation
Obi, a former Anambra State governor, left the PDP in May 2022, just before the party’s presidential primary, and joined the Labour Party on May 27, 2022. He went on to contest the 2023 presidential election, finishing third behind President Bola Tinubu (APC) and Atiku Abubakar (PDP).
In recent months, Obi’s political future has been the subject of intense speculation following his alignment with the Coalition for Nigeria platform, which includes the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other smaller parties.
ADC Rejects Sheriff’s Prediction
Responding to Sheriff’s comments, Bolaji Abdullahi, interim national publicity secretary of the ADC, dismissed the claim as political speculation, insisting that Obi remains committed to the coalition.
“Peter is in the coalition regardless of what anybody is saying,” Abdullahi said on Arise Television’s Prime Time.
“Everyone knows that the jugular of the PDP is still in the hands of the ruling party, and Peter Obi knows he cannot take the risk of returning to the PDP.”
He noted that the coalition was barely one month old and currently focused on building structures and strengthening its internal democracy, rather than deciding its 2027 presidential flagbearer.
“The question of who becomes the flagbearer is a decision for the future. Right now, we are developing the party and laying a strong foundation,” Abdullahi said.
PDP Silent as Courtship Rumors Grow
While the PDP has not officially responded to Sheriff’s claims, party elder Jerry Gana recently hinted that talks to bring Obi back into the PDP were ongoing, signaling that political realignments ahead of 2027 are already in motion.
