•PDP opts out, as Shekarau, others give reasons alliance may not work
From Ismail Omipidan, Abuja
Political observers in the country are at a loss over the seeming lack of unity by the opposition parties to dislodge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from power, as the 2027 presidential election draws nearer.
Many contend that while the ruling party continues to take giant political strides on a daily basis, with members of the opposition parties joining the party in droves, the leading opposition parties – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) – appear to be sinking more and more into disarray, with several intractable internal crises which not even the courts have been able to resolve.
The latest declaration by the PDP, a party many had thought would provide leadership and platform for the opposition parties, that it was not interested in any coalition, appears to have further deepened the confusion in the camp of the opposition. With three different persons laying claim to the chairmanship of the second largest opposition party in the country, the Labour Party (LP), it is unlikely the party would be able to find its voice in the next months, let alone talk about coalition.
Interestingly, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his ruling APC, pundits say, appear to be leaving no one in doubt about their readiness to remain in power beyond the 2027.
“If President Tinubu and the APC is able to stabilise the economy, reduce prices of food the way they are currently doing and match what they are doing with the people-oriented project and services across the country, I doubt if we the opposition parties will even find people to listen to us, when we eventually put our act together to prosecute the 2027 presidential election,” one of the opposition parties’ leaders told Saturday Sun in confidence.
He believes that the opposition in Nigeria is saddled with so much infighting that it has been unable to properly engage the Federal Government in any meaningful dialogue that would improve the living conditions of Nigerians.
Shekarau’s position on coalition
Ibrahim Shekarau, a former Kano State Governor, has also written off the chances of any opposition coalition dethroning President Bola Tinubu and the ruling APC in 2027.
Shekarau, who is also the leader of the League of Northern Democrats (LND), noted that none of the opposition figures mounting coalition obtained their party’s consent to embark on the coalition, adding that aligning prominent names under one coalition does not automatically translate to a unified political front.
“The coalition of opposition figures is a good development, as seen in their recent meeting under what they call an opposition alliance. However, none of the key figures involved represents their party leadership.
“The first political merger in Nigeria happened in 2013 when four registered parties merged to form the APC. So, technically, the APC is not a ‘new party.’ It was an alliance of registered opposition political parties that were already well established, with elected state governors, state and National Assembly members, and significant grassroots support.
“What happened at the National Assembly on March 20, 2025, regarding the ‘State of Emergency’ in Rivers State has exposed the so-called coalition. It is clear they have no control over opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly.
“If the coalition leaders had any real influence, the APC government would not have secured the required votes for the law’s passage.
“The 2019 ‘coalition’ was formally launched almost a year before the elections at the Yar’Adua Centre, yet none of the then-elected PDP leaders were in attendance. No amount of noise-making or informal alliances by individual politicians in the name of opposition will have any impact in elections unless the full leadership structure of opposition parties at all levels is involved.
“It is, however, not too late. I believe that with the right vision, mission, and focus, combined with a genuine sense of purpose, the opposition can change its narrative in 2025 and position itself for success in the 2027 elections.
“The coalition of opposition figures is a good development, as seen in their recent meeting under what they call an opposition alliance. However, none of the key figures involved represents their party leadership,” Shekarau added.
NNPP’s position on coalition
Lending its voice to the fact that the opposition parties in the country are battling with one crisis or the other, Senator Rufai Hanga, the man who single-handedly sacked the CPC from its headquarters before the merger, on the grounds that he owns the building, said: “Boniface (Aniegbonam) and his team are being sponsored to foment trouble just like some people were sponsored to scatter the PDP and LP. I know that the PDP is already gone, but LP is still alive, so they scattered it, and they wanted to do the same to us (NNPP) in desperation. But unfortunately, they were late because we quickly thought about it and were steps ahead. We knew that this was coming, which is why we did what we did. I was the one who chaired the convention that was recognised by INEC.”
Senator Hanga, who currently represents Kano Central Senatorial District in the red chamber, was elected on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and like others, the party is also battling internal crisis. Asked if he was under pressure to join the ruling APC, he simply said: “I am not a small boy in politics, and by my upbringing, I can never betray someone with whom we had a deal.
I have never done that and will never betray the NNPP leader. I would rather not come back to the senate than betray him. Politics is local. APC cannot do anything for me in Kano; they will abandon me, so I cannot be stupid. If my leader decides to move with them, I’ll go with him.”
Asked if the party is in talks with other opposition parties concerning coalition against the APC, Senator Hanga said “we have not decided anything yet, but within the next one or two months, you will hear our decision. My leader (Kwankwaso) has been a friend to President Bola Tinubu for many years. They invited Kwankwaso ab initio to come and join the government because they had an agreement, and he consented. But that agreement was kicked out, and he was ditched. We thank God it happened very early before anything even started. There is so much betrayal in this country. If not for me, APC would not have existed, and no one gave me a dime.”
His posture about coalition and defection to the APC, analysts believe, further confirms the confusion in the camp of the opposition, with the latest position of the leaders of the PDP further compounding the whole situation.
Why PDP opted out of coalition arrangement
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a chieftain of the PDP and the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, alongside other key political figures, on March 20, 2025, announced the formation of a new opposition coalition aimed at unseating President Bola Tinubu in 2027. The announcement was made during a press conference at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja. On the occasion, Atiku was flanked by former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Labour Party spokesperson, Yunusa Tanko, and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha.
But by Thursday, April 10, 2025, governors elected on the platform of the party and leaders of thought within the party resolved not to abandon the party for any coalition ahead of the 2027 presidential election, saying that rather than build any coalition, the energy and resources should be channelled to building the PDP.
Among those present at the meeting where the decision was reached were two former Senate presidents, David Mark and Bukola Saraki, former governors of Kaduna, Jigawa and Sokoto states, Ahmed Makarfi, Sule Lamido and Senator Aminu Tambuwal.
Others were former Minister of Police Affairs, Adamu Maina Waziri and former Defence minister, Lawal Batagarawa, with the governors represented by two of their colleagues – Governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi and Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State.
Sources told Saturday Sun that, at the meeting held under a frank atmosphere, the leaders decided to rebuild the PDP and they also briefed the governors on their plan to achieve their aim of building the party, just as they urged the governors to work with them towards achieving the same objective.
The source further noted: “They resolved that there is no need to abandon the party and be working on any coalition. They instead insisted that rather than work to build any coalition, the efforts to start a coalition should be deployed to build the PDP, using the same resources, energy, time and strategy they want to use for the coalition, for the PDP.
“They noted that all the parties, with no exception, including the APC, have their challenges and internal crisis. As such, PDP leaders should work to reconcile the differences and rebuild their structure instead of seeking any new platform.”
Saturday Sun, however, gathered authoritatively that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is the reason the party appears not too keen on any coalition.
“How many times has he (Atiku) left us and returned? If we did not remain to keep the party together, would he have had the platform to run in 2023? Now, he wants to run again in 2027, but majority of us believe that he does not stand a chance against Tinubu. But all these talks about coalition are his idea and he is already positioning himself to be the beneficiary. Unfortunately, even within the other opposition parties, they are reluctant to put in their best for the coalition because they are already feeling that Atiku will just come and reap the whole benefit and in the end may still not make it,” a PDP chieftain said.
“We are already looking in the direction of the North-Central for our presidential candidate. How it will happen, I do not know,” another PDP chieftain quipped.
North Central and PDP’s 2027 ticket
On Thursday, April 3, 2025, former National Security Adviser (NSA) to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, General Aliyu Gusau (rtd), hosted some political figures from the North-Central geopolitical zone who are seeking a consensus for power shift to the region in 2027. The group, led by Prof K’sto Nghargbu, also met with the Onah of Abaji, Alhaji Musa Baba Yunusa, barely 24 hours after meeting with Gusau.
Prof Nghargbu, a professor of medical geology, noted that the group, named North-Central Renaissance Movement, would consult all critical stakeholders to ensure that the region achieves the position of president or vice president in the next election.
“We are strengthening advocacy for the return of presidency to the zone come 2027 through high-level consultations with prominent figures in all the six geo-political zones. The zone has suffered great political setback since the post-independence and return to democracy in 1999 through denial of president and vice president slots.
“We appeal for the cooperation of all Nigerians to make the agitation a reality and put the zone in the equation of other zones who have enjoyed the constitutional right of producing president and vice president in Nigeria. The zone has what it takes to lead rather than to be led all the time, and the future should begin with the 2027 federal political arrangement.”
Saturday Sun’s findings revealed that the PDP, barring any last-minute change, would be holding its North-Central Zonal meeting today (Saturday) in Jos, the Plateau State capital. There are feelers that the issue of 2027 presidential ticket of the party may feature as part of discussions in the meeting.
Although, the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, who is leader of the party in the zone, is of the former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike’s camp, he is unlikely to dissuade the PDP North-Central zone from taking a decisive stand on the way forward, ahead of 2027