The opposition Nigeria Democratic Congress, or NDC, endorsed 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi as its presidential candidate for Nigeria's 2027 general election, and Obi named 2023 presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso as his running mate, Vanguard reported on May 30. This comes after the ruling All Progressives Congress, or APC, nominated President Bola Tinubu as its presidential candidate on May 24, while the opposition African Democratic Congress, or ADC, nominated former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on May 27.

Nigeria's political parties held their primaries for the January 2027 presidential election and February 2027 gubernatorial elections over the past few weeks. Obi and Atiku previously sought to form a broad opposition coalition through the ADC, but Obi left the ADC for the NDC, a largely unknown party, in early May. Obi secured 25.4% of the vote in the 2023 presidential election, against 36.6% for Tinubu, 29.1% for Atiku and 6.2% for Kwankwaso.