Opposition Coalition Set to Unveil Policy Decisions, Provide Update on Sole Candidate

A coalition comprising some opposition political parties are set to unveil key policy decisions and provide an update on efforts to produce a single presidential candidate to challenge President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.

The coalition is expected to hold a major gathering next Thursday, where it will announce its positions, policy proposals and commitments.

However, despite ongoing consultations and assurances from opposition leaders that efforts to unite against the APC remain on course, the parties have yet to reach an agreement on the possibility of fielding a consensus presidential candidate.

It is understood that several opposition figures are still pursuing their individual presidential ambitions, with no clear indication that any of the major contenders is prepared to withdraw from the race in favour of another candidate.

The G100, a group established to promote cooperation among opposition political parties and their presidential candidates, has continued to facilitate discussions aimed at building a united front.

However, the initiative has yet to produce a clear agreement on a single candidate.

A source close to Dr Salihu Lukman, convener of the coalition, dismissed suggestions that negotiations had collapsed, insisting that discussions were still ongoing.

The source also disclosed that the group was planning another major summit to deliberate on the way forward.

As part of its coalition-building efforts, the G100 has reportedly held consultations with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and other influential political figures.

The consultations were aimed at bringing opposition parties and prominent political actors together under a common platform to build consensus around a candidate capable of challenging Tinubu in 2027.

Speaking on the development, National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, confirmed that opposition parties were considering several options, including the possibility of presenting a single presidential candidate.

Baba-Ahmed said discussions among the parties had recorded considerable progress over the past two to three months, adding that there was a growing understanding that cooperation was necessary to defeat the APC.

According to him, the coalition’s foremost objective is to prevent the ruling party from securing another term, which he accused the Tinubu administration of damaging Nigerians’ lives and the economy since assuming office in 2023.

“The first, obviously, is that it is absolutely imperative that in 2027 the APC administration does not come back to continue the damage it is doing to Nigerian lives and the economy since the 2023 elections,” he said.

He maintained that defeating the ruling party would require a united opposition rather than individual political parties attempting to challenge the APC independently.

“Defeat of the APC government is only guaranteed if all parties in the opposition or most parties in the opposition collaborate in a very positive and cooperative manner to remove the APC from governance at all levels in 2027,” Baba-Ahmed said.

On whether the coalition had agreed to adopt a single presidential candidate, the PRP chairman explained that the proposal was only one of several strategies being considered and that no final decision had been reached.

“The single candidate issue is only one out of many options that we have available. And we’ve discussed each one of them in a very enlightened and very free manner,” he stated.

He further explained that some political and legal timelines had affected the options initially available to the opposition, particularly regarding the possibility of merging political parties or adopting a common candidate.

“By the time the discussions took off, substantially, timelines regarding whether parties can collapse or merge or whatever and the issue of a single candidate had been overtaken by events,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed, however, stressed that even the emergence of a consensus candidate would require considerable cooperation among the opposition parties.

“Even the single candidate option requires effort and collaboration of the coalition parties. So, one party will not be able to take on the Tinubu administration and defeat him,” he added.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the consensus arrangement, he expressed optimism about the progress made so far.

“We have options. We are pursuing all of them. We are very happy about the state of the coalition,” he said.

“Our spirits are very high. We feel confident that we will be able, as a coalition, to defeat Tinubu’s administration,” Baba-Ahmed added.

He also confirmed that the opposition would hold a major gathering next Thursday to present its policy decisions and commitments to Nigerians.

“Next Thursday, we are going to have a massive gathering where we will unveil a key number of policy decisions and some perspectives and some commitments which we intend to present to the nation as representing our core values and how we intend to continue the campaign towards the elections of 2027,” he said.

However, the possibility of reaching an agreement on a single candidate appears uncertain, given the positions of some of the major political parties involved in the discussions.

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), which has former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi as its presidential candidate, has declared that it will not withdraw its candidate in favour of any consensus candidate from another political party.

NDC spokesman, Ossai Director, disclosed this while responding to questions from Daily Trust on Monday.

He argued that the party had the political strength to challenge the APC independently and questioned why it should surrender its presidential ticket to another party.

“In my opinion, NDC is the best and we believe we can face the APC at the poll, so why should we step down?” he asked.

Director, however, confirmed that the NDC remained part of the opposition coalition discussions and was awaiting further developments regarding the proposed consensus arrangement.

He maintained that the party would not accept any candidate other than Obi as its presidential flagbearer.

The NDC spokesman also suggested that even if the opposition failed to agree on a single presidential candidate, the parties could still cooperate by working together to protect their votes during the 2027 elections.

Similarly, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki has insisted that efforts to produce a single presidential candidate against the APC remain on course.

The faction’s National Publicity Secretary of the Interim National Working Committee, Comrade Ini Ememobong, said that the discussions were progressing and that Nigerians would soon receive an update on the outcome.

He disclosed that the coalition’s media committee would address the public within the next one or two weeks to explain the progress made so far.

According to him, several presidential hopefuls, including Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Peter Obi of the NDC, Seyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and other political figures, had committed themselves to the initiative.

Ememobong insisted that none of the candidates had withdrawn from the arrangement.

“In the next one or two weeks, you will know what they have been able to achieve as the media committee will address Nigerians on what they have done so far,” he said.

He added, “As far as we are concerned, many of the candidates gave their consent to the project; Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Seyi Makinde, Donald Duke. All of them gave their commitment and none of them has withdrawn it.”

Ememobong further explained that the coalition’s objectives extended beyond producing a single presidential candidate, as the parties were also working towards establishing stronger cooperation and unity among opposition groups.