The camps of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi have rejected calls by political pressure group G-100 for opposition parties to field a single presidential candidate against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.
Key Highlights
- Atiku Abubakar’s camp says Nigerians will ultimately decide based on candidates’ policies.
- Peter Obi’s camp backs opposition cooperation but rejects the idea that a single candidate is the only route to defeating the APC.
- The NDC says Peter Obi is its preferred choice if the opposition eventually agrees on a coalition candidate.
- G-100 is pushing for a united opposition front ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
- The proposed August 31 opposition summit could test the willingness of opposition parties to agree on a common strategy.
While both camps recognise the need for greater cooperation among opposition parties, neither appears ready to abandon its presidential ambition as discussions over a possible opposition coalition gather momentum.
The development could complicate the efforts of G-100, a political pressure group convened by former Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum, Salihu Lukman. The group has been advocating a united opposition front as a strategy for challenging the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.
However, the positions emerging from the camps of Atiku and Obi suggest that agreeing on a single presidential candidate could prove more difficult than mobilising opposition parties around a common political agenda.
Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the former vice president had moved beyond discussions about merely convening an opposition summit.
Shaibu said the ultimate decision on the next president would be made by Nigerians based on the policy alternatives presented by the various candidates.
“We have moved beyond this conversation. Atiku has brought to the table the policy alternatives, including what he would do with petroleum subsidies if elected. His policies are about the people and they are not hidden. Come January 2027, Nigerians will make their choice. This is where we are today,” he said.
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He urged Nigerians to assess presidential candidates based on their policies and programmes, insisting that Atiku remained the most prepared opposition politician to take over the affairs of the country.
Peter Obi camp backs coalition, rejects single-candidate strategy
Obi’s camp also maintains that the former Anambra governor has the political experience, credentials and support required to challenge Tinubu in 2027.
Obi contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party and has since joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), as opposition realignment ahead of the 2027 election gathers momentum.
Although the NDC welcomed the G-100 initiative, the party rejected the argument that opposition parties must necessarily unite behind a single presidential candidate to defeat the APC.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said G-100 deserved commendation for seeking to unite opposition forces, but argued that Nigeria’s electoral history showed that an incumbent could be defeated without all opposition parties backing one candidate.
“Under a multi-party democracy, it is possible for one of the parties to defeat a sitting president. It happened in 2015 and it was only fragments of the All Progressive Grand Alliance and the Peoples Democratic Party that teamed up to form an alliance with the All Progressives Congress and they were able to defeat President Goodluck Jonathan,” Director said.
He said the NDC would not approach the 2027 election from what he described as a “self-defeatist” position that the opposition must unite behind one candidate before it can defeat the APC.
NDC backs Peter Obi for coalition ticket
While rejecting the argument that a single opposition candidate is the only route to victory, the NDC spokesman disclosed that the party had already identified its preferred candidate if opposition parties eventually agree to a coalition presidential ticket.
On the possibility of a consensus candidate, Director said, “We have made the point clear that we should choose the best candidate in the opposition and we in the NDC believe that Peter Obi is the best if he is allowed to lead the coalition. This is our position.”
The statement places Peter Obi at the centre of the NDC’s preferred coalition strategy, even as the wider opposition remains divided over how the proposed alliance should be structured.
Opposition coalition faces leadership test
The competing positions highlight one of the major challenges confronting opposition parties ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
While there appears to be growing support for cooperation among opposition groups, reaching agreement on who should lead a possible alliance could prove considerably more difficult.
Atiku and Obi remain among the prominent opposition figures positioning themselves for the presidential contest. Both have significant political followings, but their involvement in different political platforms means that any consensus arrangement would require negotiations over the presidential ticket, party structure and the distribution of political interests within the proposed coalition.
G-100 has maintained that its primary objective is to prevent the fragmentation of opposition votes and provide Nigerians with what it considers a credible alternative to the APC.
The group’s proposed August 31 summit is expected to provide another test of whether opposition parties and political groups can move beyond general calls for cooperation and agree on a concrete structure, platform and leadership ahead of the 2027 election.
