NDC Leader Dickson Hints at Opposition Coalition to Challenge Tinubu in 2027

The National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Senator Seriake Dickson, has hinted that the party remains highly open to forming an opposition alliance to defeat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2027 general elections.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Dickson made it clear that while his party is looking to build a formidable front with other political movements, they are hopeful that any eventual coalition will ultimately unify behind the NDC’s candidate lineup.

The push for a unified ticket stems from the lessons of the 2023 presidential election, where split votes among Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi diluted the total opposition numbers, allowing Tinubu to secure victory.

Recall that opposition figures like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi had previously joined forces in 2025 under the African Democratic Congress, though Obi later left to take up the NDC presidential ticket.

Recognizing the necessity of a coalition, Dickson stressed that the NDC would welcome strategic dialogue.

“As an opposition leader, we will be open. Our party, the NDC, will be open to conversations within that space,” Dickson stated, though he added that it is too early to pre-empt how the cross-party negotiations will unfold.

He further noted, “We hope that whatever discussions take place will lead to the NDC candidates being backed because we know the value of the candidates we are putting forward. We are not claiming superiority. After the nomination process has ended, we will move into another phase of discussions. Whether there will be an agreement, I don’t know. We will try. Where it will lead, I don’t know, but all those are options that remain open.”

Despite the difficulty in uniting the opposition, Dickson remains confident that the ruling party can be unseated if the country’s democratic institutions preserve a level playing field.

“As leader of the NDC, and as a Nigerian who knows the feelings and yearnings of Nigerians, and who also knows that their aspirations have not been met, we believe that the APC government, the APC as a party, not just the President (Tinubu), will be defeated massively,” Dickson said.

Recall that Hon. Justice Isa H. Dashen at the Lokoja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, had on Friday set aside a December 10, 2025 judgment that had previously compelled the Independent National Electoral Commission to register the NDC.

According to the court ruling, the prior judgment was nullified because it affected the legal rights of the Peace Movement Party, which claimed ownership of the logo used by the NDC but was never joined as a party to the original lawsuit.