Nigeria's two main opposition leaders have joined a new political party to challenge President BolaTinubu and his ruling party in the next election.
Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have chosen the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as their new political home after breaking away from their respective parties - the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labor Party (LP).
This is one of the biggest shake-ups in Nigerian politics since the end of military rule in 1999.
Some political heavyweights from Tinubu's All Progressives Congress (APC) party have also thrown their weight behind the formation.
Why have they joined forces?
The announcement is the culmination of a series of talks between the leaders to put up a united front in the 2027 election, rather than splitting their votes.
Tinubu won the 2023 election with just 37% of the vote after opposition supporters were divided between Abubakar who got 29%, and Obi with 25%.
Obi had broken away from the PDP after the party chose Abubakar as its presidential candidate.
At their unveiling with the ADC, interim chairman David Mark said it was an attempt to save the country's democracy and to stop Nigeria from becoming a one-party state.
Both the PDP and LP are also battling internal crises which some believe were instigated by external forces.
Analyst Shehu Iliyasu said Abubakar and Obi are learning the lessons of the last election.
"Both Atiku [Abubakar] and Obi felt they came so close in 2023 and would have maybe won on a joint ticket so they want to amend their mistake by working together this time around," he told the BBC.
Tinubu's biggest challengers in the last elections, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi are the face of the coalition.
Although there's a long way to go before candidates are officially announced, political commentators are predicting that 78-year-old Abubakar will have another shot at the presidency - it would be his fifth attempt - with former Anambra governor Obi, 63, as his vice-presidential pick.
Other political heavyweights in the coalition include former Senate President David Mark, who like Atiku is leaving the PDP, along with his former chairman Uche Secondus, and former Tinubu also turned foe Nasir El-Rufai and powerful minister in the last dispensation Rotimi Amaechi.
Is the ADC a new party?
No. The politicians are joining an already existing party which has an acronym closer to the All Democratic Alliance (ADA) they wanted to register.
The party was originally named Alliance for Democratic Change when it was formed in 2005, but it was renamed the African Democratic Congress by the time the party was registered with the Nigerian Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec).
The ADC's Jamilu Danladi said they were skeptical of getting ADA ready in time and that is why they instead went for the ADC.
Registering a new political party is a difficult process. The Inec chairman recently announced that he had received over 100 applications from associations and groups that have submitted letters of intent to become political parties.
Many of those won't make it, as apart from other conditions, the group must have a presence in at least 24 out of Nigeria's 36 states and have a headquarters in Abuja.
The ADC's Dumebi Kachikwu came fifth in the last presidential election and he currently has two members of parliament in the lower chamber.
Despite not being one of the big parties in Nigeria, the ADC has a good national spread and an active political machinery in each state, which will no doubt be boosted with the money and support of the political heavyweights who have joined it.
His first presidential candidate in 2007 Professor Pat Utomi was instrumental in it gaining national acceptance as he's a renowned economist.
Can Obi and Abubakar work together again?
This is the question on the lips of many, as Obi's large support base do not want to see him play second fiddle to anyone else - and this is why he quit the PDP to join the Labor Party in the last election.
Obi himself has dismissed speculation that he would be the vice-presidential candidate, while Abubakar would go for the top job.
"I'm going to contest for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and I believe I am qualified for it," he said in an interview with Channels TV.
While Abubakar's supporters feel with him being the only former vice-president seeking the presidency, every other politician naturally comes second.
When both politicians worked together in 2019 with Obi serving as Abubakar's running mate, they lost to the APC's Muhammadu Buhari.
When Obi left the PDP for LP in 2022, it was a peaceful separation without rancour.
The former governor said at the time that he was moving to LP because it aligned with his aspirations.
As if both knew fate would bring them back together, neither spoke ill of the other either before or during the 2023 campaign.
Inec provisions says the procedure for the nomination of candidates by political parties for various elective positions in the country should be through primaries or consensus.
It remains to be seen whether the ADC will be able to find a co
