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2027: Opposition Parties Unite, to Field One Candidate Against Tinubu
Political leaders from the opposition have resolved to present a united front in the 2027 general elections, agreeing to field a single presidential candidate to challenge President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The decision was one of the major highlights of a National Summit of Opposition Political Leaders held on Saturday in Ibadan, Oyo State, where participants gathered to fashion the way out of the current challenges facing the country.
They also warned that Nigeria’s democracy is under increasing strain and requires urgent collective action to safeguard it.
The summit, themed “Safeguarding Nigeria’s Democracy: A National Dialogue,” brought together key opposition figures across party lines, culminating in the adoption of a joint communiqué known as the Ibadan Declaration.
Leaders at the event said the decision to rally behind a single candidate was driven by the need to avoid fragmentation of votes and strengthen the opposition’s chances at the polls.
Host governor, Seyi Makinde, in his welcome address, warned of a steady erosion of democratic competition, noting that the concentration of political power under one party threatens pluralism.
He took a trip down memory lane, reminding the ruling party that the ‘wet e’ era in Ibadan, which he said must not be allowed to repeat itself.
“Democracy without opposition is not democracy, it is a slow drift toward a one-party state,” he said.
Factional National Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Taminu Turaki, described the move as both strategic and necessary, warning that disunity has historically weakened opposition efforts.
“A single stick can be broken easily, but a bundle of sticks is far more difficult to break,” he said, urging political actors to prioritise national interest over individual ambition.
Turaki maintained that Nigeria is currently experiencing what he termed “progressive regression,” citing worsening insecurity, economic challenges, and declining confidence in democratic institutions.
“This is not a moment for silence or division; it is a moment for decisive action,” he said.
Similarly, former Senate President David Mark described the moment as a “national rescue mission,” stressing that no single opposition party could confront the current political structure alone.
“We cannot confront the future as fragmented entities. This is the time to rewrite the story of coalition building in Nigeria,” Mark said.
In the communiqué issued at the end of the summit, opposition parties reaffirmed their commitment to contest the 2027 elections at all levels, rejecting what they described as attempts to impose a one-party state.
They also resolved to resist any move to make the election a one-candidate race, insisting that Nigerians must be presented with credible alternatives.
Beyond the consensus candidacy plan, the declaration raised concerns over the credibility of the electoral process.
They passed a vote of no confidence in the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan.
The opposition leaders alleged bias and called for his removal from overseeing the 2027 elections.
Leaders at the event said the decision to rally behind a single candidate was driven by the need to avoid fragmentation of votes and strengthen the opposition’s chances at the polls.
The summit further urged the National Assembly to review contentious provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, and demanded an extension of deadlines for party primaries to the end of July 2026.
Participants also called for the release of political actors allegedly detained on bailable offences, stressing the need for inclusivity and respect for fundamental rights.
Speakers at the summit, in their separate remarks, repeatedly stressed that Nigeria stands at a critical juncture, urging leaders to act decisively to preserve democratic institutions.
The summit ended with the declaration of a shared commitment among opposition parties to deepen collaboration, rebuild public trust, and present a united challenge in 2027.
The Ibadan meeting attracted several prominent political figures from different political parties, including the PDP and the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Among them were former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola, former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, political economist Pat Utomi, and elder statesman Jerry Gana, among other notable political leaders.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has thrown the 2027 race wide open by zoning
its presidential ticket to the South for a single four-year term, a move that instantly puts Peter Obi and other southern aspirants in play.
The decision came at the party’s national convention on Saturday after a motion by Rep. Afam Victor Ogene of Anambra’s Ogbaru constituency. Delegates adopted it without dissent.
Under the arrangement, the South gets the ticket for 2027 only. Once that four-year term ends, the ticket automatically shifts back to the North.
The zoning formula settles months of backroom jostling inside the NDC over where the party should field its standard-bearer. By locking the North into a wait-and-hold position, the convention has effectively cleared the runway for southern heavyweights to move.
For Obi, the former Anambra governor who ran in 2023, the resolution removes the biggest structural hurdle to picking up the NDC’s form. Other southern aspirants now have the same green light to purchase and process nomination forms.
Party leaders framed the deal as a balance between regional equity and political strategy ahead of 2027. Critics inside the party will watch whether the “automatic” handoff to the North holds once the race gets hot.
For now, the South has its window. The question is who walks through it first.
The Senate has amended its Standing Orders, limiting eligibility to contest for its presiding officers and principal officers to only members of the 10th Senate.
In the new rules, a senator shall only qualify to contest for Senate Presidency and Deputy Senate Presidency if he/she has won election to the Senate for at least one term of four years.
To be eligible to contest for any principal office, a senator must have won election for two consecutive periods, the last one must immediately precede the inauguration of the next Senate.
By implication, any senator who plans to vie to become a presiding officer in the 11th Senate (2027-20231) must have been a senator for at least one term preceding the inauguration.
For principal offices (chief whip, deputy whip, minority whip, etc), the senator must have been a member of the current 10th Senate, or they are not eligible to contest.
Under the new provision on “qualification of presiding officers”, it is stated in Order 3,”A Senator vying for the Office of the President of the Senate and the Deputy President of the Senate must have served at least one term of four (4) years in the Senate as a senator of the Federal Republic.”
Similarly, nomination for the positions shall strictly follow ranking in the following order: former president of the Senate; former deputy president of the Senate; former principal officers of the Senate; senators who had served for at least one term of four (4) years; and senators who had been members of the House of Representatives.
According to the provision, it is only the absence of the above that a first-term senator can be nominated to contest for the positions of presiding officers.
Under Order 5, a senator seeking to be a principal officer must have “served as a senator for at least two consecutive terms immediately preceding such nomination. “
The Senate passed the rules after a lengthy executive session presided over by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday.
The new rules impliedly gives Akpabio, other former presiding officers, principal officers and ranked senators the right of first refusal.
Findings indicated that the new rules might be what some sources described as “self-serving” or designed to serve the interest of the present presiding officers and members of the 10th Senate.
For instance, some State governors contesting the 2027 election to the Senate in the hope of vying for the presidency of the Senate, are effectively barred by the new rules.
It was also learnt that even within the Senate, the new rules will stop some senators from vying to become principal officers as they would not have attained two consecutive terms prior to 2027.
The National Publicity Secretary of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, has claimed that the party favoured Peter Obi more than any other aspirant while with them.
Abdullahi said this while faulting Obi’s claim that internal wrangling was part of the reason he defected to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
Featuring on Arise Television’s Prime Time, Abdullahi said Obi and Kwankwaso’s defection means a lot because they are significant politicians.
He said: “I will be lying to say that their defection didn’t mean anything because these are two significant frontline politicians in this country and when you lose those two politicians then you will fill that you have lost something.
“But it’s not a mortal blow because what we are trying to do is to build a broad based coalition that would include everyone.
“The reason we are building this coalition is because our individual parties have been destabilized and the only way out was to come together.
“There was a consensus among us that the direction this country is going was quite precarious and the only way we can win election and rescue the country from the misrule of the APC is to build a party that is formidable enough.
“Obi and Kwankwaso have a different political idea of what the party should be doing.
“Obi said himself that once we present two candidates against President Tinubu, we have given him a chance. I wonder what has changed.
“So if the legal challenges are the reason that we have left after creating the impression that ADC is drowning in these mountains of legal challenges, the answer is no.
“At the moment, we have only three cases which are flimsy without trying to be prejudicial, as the National Publicity Secretary of ADC.
“I can tell you that none of the aspirants and leaders have been favoured like Peter Obi.”
