Opposition political parties in Nigeria have maintained that they’re committed towards uniting to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress APC in next year’s presidential election.

Our correspondents however report that they are yet to agree on the issue of rallying round one candidate in 2027.

Checks by our correspondents reveal that the opposition parties and their candidates are still pursuing their individual political interests, with no indication that they are prepared to step down for a consensus candidate.

The G100, formed to establish a synergy among the various political parties and their candidates, has so far not been able to achieve that but has maintained that it has not abandoned that cause.

A source close to Dr Salihu Lukman, the convener of the coalition, said it is not true that talks in that regard have collapsed.

There are indications that the group is planning another mega summit to deliberate on the issue.

It would be recalled that as part of its coalition-building efforts, the group has held consultations with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, among other political figures.

The consultations were aimed at bringing opposition parties and influential political actors together under a common platform and building consensus around a single presidential candidate to challenge Tinubu.

However, the initiative has faced uncertainty amid continuing political activities and presidential ambitions among opposition figures.

Our correspondents were told that the coalition would hold a major gathering next week Thursday to unveil policy decisions, positions and commitments it intends to present to Nigerians ahead of the 2027 elections.

Efforts to reach Lukman for his direct reaction to the report were unsuccessful, as calls and WhatsApp messages sent to him had not been answered as of the time of filing this report but a source close to him said discussions are ongoing.

We’re still weighing options for single candidate – Baba-Ahmed

The opposition coalition is considering several options, including the emergence of a single presidential candidate, as part of efforts to defeat President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections, the National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has confirmed.

Baba-Ahmed said discussions among opposition parties had made considerable progress in the last two to three months, with the parties agreeing that collaboration was necessary to dislodge the APC from power.

He said the coalition had identified the need to prevent the APC administration from securing another term as its foremost objective, accusing the government of damaging Nigerians’ lives and the economy since the 2023 elections.

“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.

The PRP chairman said the opposition parties had also agreed that defeating the ruling party would require a united front rather than individual efforts by political parties.

“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,” he said.

On the possibility of fielding a common presidential candidate, Baba-Ahmed said it was one of several options being examined by the coalition and that no final position 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 said.

He explained that the coalition was assessing the available strategies to determine which would best serve its objective, noting that some political and legal timelines had affected the options initially available to the parties.

“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 the emergence of a single candidate, if adopted, would still depend on 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 said.

He added: “We have options. We are pursuing all of them. We are very happy about the state of the coalition.”

The PRP chairman expressed confidence in the coalition’s prospects, saying its members were encouraged by the progress made in their discussions.

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

He also disclosed that the coalition would hold a major gathering the following Thursday to unveil policy decisions, positions and commitments it intends to present to Nigerians ahead of the 2027 elections.

“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.

Peter Obi will not step down for anybody – NDC

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has said that its Presidential candidate will not step down for any consensus candidate from outside the party.

The NDC is one of the major political parties central to the discussion.

Fielding questions from our correspondent on Monday, the NDC spokesman, Ossai Director, said since other opposition presidential candidates, especially that of the African Democratic Party (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, had refused to step down, that of the NDC would also not step down.

He said although the party is awaiting the announcement of the consensus candidate by the organisers, the NDC will not accept any other candidate aside from Peter Obi.

He said, “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 said while the NDC is still part of the arrangement, if the consensus candidature cannot work, the opposition can still work together to protect the votes on the election date.

Efforts to present single presidential candidate still on course – PDP faction

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, under the leadership of Kabiru Tanimu Turaki has disclosed that the quest by the opposition to produce a single presidential candidate against the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC is still on course.

Comrade Ini Ememobong, National Publicity Secretary of the Interim National Working Committee, INWC of the PDP told Daily Trust that in the next one or two weeks, the media committee will address Nigerians on what they have achieved so far.

He said the Presidential candidates of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar; Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi; Allied Peoples Movement APM, Seyi Makinde; Peoples Redemption party, PRP; among others gave their words and are committed to the process.

Ememobong added that these candidates have not rescinded their decisions.

He also said apart from the single presidential candidate, the coalition was also working towards creating a cohesion among the opposition parties.

“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.

“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.” (Daily Trust)