By ADEYEMI ADELEYE

A PDP Chieftain, Dr Adetokunbo Pearse, says agreement by opposition parties to field a single presidential candidate in 2027 will only succeed if key actors subordinate personal ambitions to collective interest.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the nation's major opposition parties agreed to field a single candidate against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election at a summit on Saturday in Ibadan.

Reacting, Pearse, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday said for the emerging partnership between the PDP, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and others to succeed, ambitions must be controlled.

“The success of this arrangement depends on unity and sacrifice.

“If leaders put Nigeria first and work together, the opposition can present a credible alternative and achieve victory.

“Leaders must be willing to sacrifice personal ambition. Not everyone can be the presidential candidate.

“If the parties agree on credible candidates and support them fully, the alliance can succeed. Unity, humility, and discipline are critical,” Pearse said.

Pearse, who served on the 2023 Presidential Campaign Committee of Atiku Abubakar and is Convener of the Reset Lagos PDP group, said that the current alliance differed fundamentally from previous coalitions.

He recalled that the 2019 coalition under the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) collapsed due to internal rivalry and lack of cohesion.

“When we moved from PDP to SDP around 2018, after the convention where my candidate, Prof.Tunde Adeniran, lost, we joined a coalition,but it collapsed because of internal wrangling.

“All the smaller parties, which previously had little influence, suddenly wanted to produce presidential candidates. There was too much competition and not enough unity.

“Even though leaders like Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida were willing to support the effort, the rancour within made it unsustainable,” he added.

He explained that the current arrangement was not a coalition in the traditional sense, but a strategic alliance built on mutual agreement.

The PDP chieftain said: “This is not a coalition in the old sense. It is an agreement among willing partners.

“The idea is simple: we work together to produce a joint ticket. After the Supreme Court judgment, whichever party—PDP or ADC—is cleared to proceed will present the presidential candidate, while the other provides the vice-presidential candidate.

“This arrangement will apply across all levels—governorship, National Assembly, and state assembly elections.”

According to him, the alliance would rely on consensus and candidate strength rather than rigid party dominance.

“For example, if in Anambra the ADC has a stronger governorship candidate than the PDP, then ADC will produce the candidate, while PDP provides the deputy.

“The same principle applies to senatorial and House of Representatives seats. The goal is to field the strongest possible candidates, regardless of party.”

The PDP stalwart acknowledged that the arrangement would be difficult to implement, but insisted it remained achievable under the present circumstances.

“It won’t be easy. Politics is full of ambition,but the key lesson from 2019 is that lack of structure, funding, and unity led to failure.

“This time, the reality is clearer. If the opposition is serious about challenging President Bola Tinubu and the APC, then compromises must be made.If not, PDP can still go alone.”

On the relevance of governors in determining electoral outcomes, he argued that voter sentiment outweighed political structures.

“Governors do not determine electoral victory—voters do, as we saw in the 2023 general elections.

“In 2023, APC had about 22 governors, but only won in a fraction of those states. PDP also had governors but did not dominate their states. Meanwhile, Peter Obi, without governors, won in multiple states.”

He stressed that sacrifice among political actors would be critical to the success of the alliance.

He added: “Aspirants have to be humble and have to be able to say, I don’t have to be the presidential candidate.

“You can’t always insist that it must be you. If the party presents someone else, you support that person. That is the only way this kind of arrangement can work.”

The chieftain also suggested a possible presidential ticket that could emerge from the arrangement.

“A combination such as Gov. Seyi Makinde and former Kano State Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso would be very strong. That kind of ticket will go far and can be victorious.

“It will present credible leadership capable of moving Nigeria forward,” he said. (NAN)