2027: Opposition Rallies For One Candidate As Tinubu’s Allies Close Ranks

•Consensus candidate may emerge days to election, Lukman reveals

•Buhari saw Tinubu as ‘bad news’ for Nigeria – Baba-Ahmed

•No vacancy in Aso Rock, North behind Tinubu 100%, says Abba Yusuf

Opposition parties are intensifying efforts to unite behind a single presidential candidate to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027, as the president’s supporters rally behind his re-election bid.

The convener of the G-100 Coalition, Salihu Lukman, said the opposition could unveil its consensus candidate just days or weeks before the election. However, Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf has declared that the North will support Tinubu with 100 per cent of its votes.

The National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has also called for a united opposition, accusing Tinubu’s administration of worsening the country’s condition. He further claimed that former President Muhammadu Buhari had viewed Tinubu as “bad news” for Nigeria before the 2023 presidential election.

The three positions reflect the growing political contest ahead of the 2027 election, with opposition leaders seeking a common platform while Tinubu’s allies push for continuity.

Lukman, a former National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), disclosed the opposition’s plans during an appearance on Channels Television’s *Hard Copy* programme.

He said the leadership of the participating parties remained committed to producing a candidate who could challenge the ruling party.

“I can tell you categorically, and my confidence about that comes from what I see in the leadership of the parties: they are committed and they are working, taking all the steps necessary,” Lukman said.

He explained that the announcement could come close to election day, depending on the progress of negotiations among the parties.

“So it could be two months, some weeks to the election, or a few days to the election; they will come out and tell Nigerians this is the direction, and everybody will queue,” he said.

The G-100 Coalition was formed to encourage opposition parties to rally behind one presidential candidate and challenge the APC in 2027.

The initiative followed an all-opposition summit in Ibadan in April, where participants agreed to pursue a consensus candidate.

Lukman said the process had moved beyond the six political parties that initially signed on, with efforts underway to bring more parties into the alliance.

He added that the parties and their presidential candidates had taken over the negotiations from the coalition to build the trust required for an agreement.

“When the parties owned the process we had started and took it beyond, took it out of our hands and began to engage each other based on the need to develop the kind of confidence they need to trust one another,” he said.

According to Lukman, mistrust among opposition parties and their presidential candidates remains a major obstacle to the proposed alliance.

He also disclosed that a summit held on August 31 agreed to establish five working groups to address different aspects of the coalition, including the selection of a single presidential candidate.

Each participating party is expected to nominate representatives through its presidential candidate or leadership. The representatives will work under agreed terms of reference.

Baba-Ahmed, meanwhile, criticised Tinubu’s administration and questioned the president’s ambition to secure another term.

The PRP chairman spoke at a summit organised by the Northern Elders Forum, in remarks published by Symfoni on its YouTube channel on Saturday.

He argued that Nigerians should have questioned Tinubu’s presidential ambition when he declared “Emilokan”, meaning “it is my turn”, during the build-up to the 2023 election.

“Nigerians ought to have known there was something wrong the day Tinubu said, ‘It’s my turn’. Maybe we missed it,” Baba-Ahmed said.

He also claimed that Buhari had reservations about Tinubu succeeding him in 2023.

“Even Buhari saw Tinubu as bad news for this country. In fairness to him, he is not around him. Buhari resisted some people who insisted it had to be Tinubu,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed accused the current administration of failing across key indicators and worsening the hardship faced by Nigerians.

“Every index of failure shows in this administration,” he said.

He called on opposition parties to set aside their differences and pool their resources to create a coalition capable of defeating Tinubu.

“What we have seen is an incredible willingness for politicians to come together and say, let’s put aside some of our differences and see if we can actually create a momentum strong enough to remove this Tinubu,” he said.

The PRP chairman said the alliance would produce a candidate and urged Nigerians opposed to Tinubu’s re-election to support whoever emerged.

“There will be a candidate that will be produced by this coalition. Vote for whoever he is,” he said.

He also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that the 2027 election reflected the will of voters.

“If it does, and it must, because the consequences are almost clear, Tinubu is done,” Baba-Ahmed said.

Yusuf, however, declared that the North would stand behind Tinubu in the next presidential election, arguing that the region should honour what he described as an understanding between northern and southern political leaders on power rotation.

The Kano governor made the declaration on Saturday at the unveiling of the Arewa for Asiwaju (A4A) national headquarters in Abuja.

He said an understanding reached in 1999 provided for the North and South to each have two consecutive presidential terms.

“Arewa will support the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 100 per cent,” Yusuf said.

He cited Buhari’s eight years in office as evidence that the North had already completed its two-term tenure, adding that the South should now be allowed to do the same.

“In 1999, there was a mutual agreement between the North and the South, that the North will be allowed to go for two consecutive terms in office,” he said.

Yusuf acknowledged that the arrangement was not constitutionally binding but insisted that political leaders should respect it.

“We don’t have any cause to now violate that promise, even though not constitutionally, but I can say for constitution of common sense. Common sense dictates that we have to respect this mutual agreement,” he said.

He pledged support for Tinubu on behalf of northern states and described the president’s performance as commendable.

The opposition’s effort to agree on a single candidate and the commitment expressed by Tinubu’s supporters are likely to remain central to political negotiations ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Whether the opposition parties can resolve their differences and settle on a common flag-bearer remains unresolved.