LAGOS SEPTEMBER 2ND (NEWSRANGERS)-Opposition parties appear to be facing fresh difficulties in their efforts to agree on a single presidential candidate to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election, despite renewed calls for unity ahead of the poll.
The latest attempt to bring the opposition together was made in Abuja on Monday, when seven political parties met under the G-100 platform to discuss an alliance and explore the possibility of presenting a common candidate.
However, the absence of two of the major opposition contenders, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), raised questions about the prospects of the arrangement.
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Neither Atiku nor Obi attended the meeting, while their running mates were also absent.
The development has strengthened concerns that the opposition may struggle to persuade the leading presidential contenders to give up their individual ambitions in favour of a consensus candidate.
They are seeking to defeat Tinubu, who is seeking a second term, but their efforts have repeatedly been confronted by disagreements over who should lead the proposed coalition.
The Abuja meeting was also not the first attempt to achieve such an arrangement. A similar gathering held in Ibadan on April 25 under the leadership of Oyo State
Governor Seyi Makinde failed to produce the desired political alliance. Makinde, who identifies with the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), was also absent from that meeting.
Beyond the search for a common presidential candidate, organisers of Monday’s meeting said they were considering an arrangement under which whoever emerges as the opposition’s joint candidate would serve only one term.
ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, however, said the discussion in Abuja was broader than simply selecting one person to contest the presidency.
He said: “To the best of our knowledge, there were so many things on the agenda beyond producing a single presidential candidate. One of the lead conveners said it is also about exploring areas of cooperation among the political parties.
“If it will lead to a situation where we have a single presidential candidate, it will be fine. But that is not the main objective of the conversation.”
While the opposition has continued to explore ways of working together, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed the possibility of the parties successfully producing a consensus candidate.
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APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, argued that the opposition’s inability to agree before their respective primaries showed how difficult it would be for them to unite around one candidate after candidates had already emerged.
He said: “They cannot get a single candidate. Their case is like a maize inside a bottle that hens cannot eat. That is the analogy.
“In the build-up to the primaries, they could not come together. They went their separate ways. They are not driven by the love for Nigeria, but by a selfish agenda. They are dishonest. That is why they cannot acknowledge the achievements of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has put the country on the path of progress, despite the challenges.”
Basiru further argued that the opposition parties had waited too long to pursue a consensus arrangement.
“The truth is that candidates have emerged on the platforms of all political parties. It is laughable for anybody to now say he or she wants to have a single candidature. It is like closing the stable when the horse has already escaped,” he said.
He added: “Because they are motivated by their individual inordinate ambition and not the interest of the Nigerian people, they cannot come to any understanding and unanimity as to anybody stepping down for themselves.
“For us in the ruling party, their gathering was more of a publicity stunt than actual political relevance.”
APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, also played down the coalition effort, arguing that the absence of the major opposition figures at the Abuja gathering was evidence of the problems confronting the plan.
He said: “The absence of the principal actors at the gathering was enough to show that their move hit the rock before the journey even began.
“They will be roundly rejected at the polls again. The defeat they suffered in 2023 was child’s play compared to what Nigerians will do to them in 2027.”
Although both Atiku and Obi have at different times spoken about the possibility of serving a single term if elected, neither has publicly indicated that he is prepared to withdraw his candidacy in favour of the other.
Obi and Atiku had initially worked together under the ADC coalition arrangement but their political relationship later changed. In May, Obi left the ADC, where the two had been associated with efforts to build an opposition platform.
Another opposition figure, Donald Duke, presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), has taken a different position.
The former governor of Cross River state has declared his willingness to step aside if a stronger consensus candidate emerges.
Duke said the opposition should focus on selecting the person best positioned to achieve its common objective rather than allowing individual ambition to determine the outcome.
“Absolutely. First of all, once we have a commonality and objective, the next question is who is best suited for this, right? But the beauty of it is that it brings you into the playground. You know, I was liking this thing to sports,” he said.
He added: “I want to be in that because I think you need some voice of reason amongst a lot of them.”
Duke also warned that the opposition could hand Tinubu an easy victory if it fails to unite before the election.
“Absolutely, with the chequered opposition it won’t work; Tinubu might win,” the former Cross River governor said.
“The reality is that things are bound to happen on that (election) day, how to mitigate those things should be the major concern of the opposition.
“I don’t like people who cry wolf after it has happened and all that. We have done this several times over, we should anticipate it, and united we stand if we do it, if we don’t, then we will only have ourselves to blame because it has repeated itself.”
Duke acknowledged Tinubu’s political strength but criticised his performance in government, saying the President did not deserve another term.
“Give it to him, he is a formidable politician, my issue with him is governance not politics. He is weak on governance, from what we have seen over the last three years he is very weak on governance,” Duke said.
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