The prospect of Nigeria’s opposition parties rallying behind a single presidential candidate to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election has effectively collapsed, according to a chieftain of the G-100 political pressure group, Umanu Elijah.
In a telephone interview on Sunday, Elijah said the failure of opposition parties to set aside their individual ambitions in favour of a consensus candidate had ended any realistic hope of building a broad-based coalition against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He explained that opposition politicians have shown little willingness to make the concessions needed to forge a united front.
What the G-100 Was Set Up to Achieve
The G-100 is a political pressure group convened by Salihu Lukman, former Director-General of the Progressives Governors’ Forum. It was established to facilitate a broad-based opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 general election.
The group’s central argument has been that opposition parties contesting the election separately would struggle to dislodge the APC, particularly given the ruling party’s political structures and electoral advantages. To advance that goal, the G-100 held consultations with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, among other political figures, in an effort to build consensus around a common platform and a single presidential candidate.
The initiative also sought to bring opposition parties and influential political actors across party lines together, on the expectation that a united front would improve their chances against Tinubu in 2027.
Doubts Mount as Candidates Pursue Their Own Campaigns
Those efforts have faced growing doubts as opposition politicians continue to pursue their individual political ambitions and campaign activities, with little indication that an agreement on a common candidate is imminent. The development has raised questions about the feasibility of the coalition project as the 2027 election approaches and political actors intensify consultations and mobilisation.
Elijah said the single-candidate proposal championed by Lukman had failed. “The sole candidacy thing is dead and buried. The candidates are not ready to make concessions,” he said. “You can see what the Allied Peoples Movement is doing. They are going about their campaigns, and none of these candidates is talking about single candidacy.”
He cited the continued campaign activities of the African Democratic Congress and the Allied Peoples Movement, alongside those of other opposition parties, as evidence that the prospects of a consensus arrangement had diminished.
Why a Unified Opposition Mattered
The coalition push was driven by concerns that a divided opposition would split votes and weaken the challenge to the APC in the next general election. As things stand, none of the political gladiators, including Atiku, Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Makinde and Adewale Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party, have shown any willingness to sacrifice their ambitions in support of whoever might emerge as a consensus candidate.
That leaves the opposition likely to enter the election as fragmented parties rather than a united coalition driven by common purpose and interest.
Attempts to obtain a reaction from Lukman were unsuccessful, as he neither answered calls nor responded to messages sent to him on WhatsApp.
What the Collapse Means for 2027
The failure of the consensus candidate plan marks a significant setback for efforts to present a coordinated challenge to the ruling party. With the individual contenders apparently unwilling to step aside, the opposition appears set to contest the 2027 election on separate platforms, a scenario the G-100 had warned would dilute their collective strength against the APC.
