The presidential hopeful of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr Peter Obi has rejected accusations that he is fleeing from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Obi expressed a lot of respect for Atiku, whom he referred to as a leader and his older brother.

He spoke on Friday in Cape Town, South Africa, during the Spier Dialogue 2026, which is a forum for governance in Africa.

“Not many people are as close to Atiku as I am. So I can’t be running from him. This man is my highly respected leader and older brother.

“I don’t run from him. Never. It doesn’t involve escaping from anyone. I’ve never run from anybody.

“I just think I go about things in a different way,” he said.

The comments come after a tough few months in their political relationship.

The two men chose the African Democratic Congress as their coalition platform to oppose President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.

Obi officially became a member of the ADC on January 1, 2026, but later defected to the NDC.