2027: Opposition coalition must protect, support one another — Baba-Ahmed

The National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has said opposition parties must protect and support one another as they work towards building a stronger coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Baba-Ahmed stated this during an interview with Arise News on Wednesday, where he explained that the emerging coalition was intended to strengthen the collective capacity of opposition parties to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to him, the alliance requires parties to work together, pool their resources and support one another in dealing with the political and legal challenges ahead of the elections.

“It’s to be designed basically to improve the capacity of opposition parties to oust the APC. Plainly speaking, that’s it. It entails working together, pooling energy and resources together,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed said factionalisation within some opposition parties had created uncertainty over whether certain candidates would eventually appear on the ballot.

He said the situation made cooperation among the parties necessary, particularly in cases where members or factions faced legal challenges.

“Parties have become factionalized; you just never know whether some candidates will be on the ballot or not, or if their particular faction of the party is not recognized at some stage between now and then,” he said.

The PRP chairman added that the coalition must “watch each other’s backs, protect each other, give each other support” and ensure that electoral laws were respected.

On the possibility of a single presidential candidate for the coalition, Baba-Ahmed said it would be difficult to adopt such an arrangement at this stage because the participating parties already had candidates.

He, however, said the coalition had not ruled out different forms of cooperation.

“Technically, it would be very difficult to simply say we have one candidate. All the parties in the coalition now have candidates,” he said.

“However, there are a lot of things we can do. All options are on the table. We can support a candidate without necessarily telling our candidates to stand down, or we can allow multiple candidates to contest. But there are many other ways in which we can reinforce each other.”

Baba-Ahmed identified money, security and political hostility as major factors that could shape the 2027 elections.

He also dismissed the size of political rallies as a reliable indication of electoral support, arguing that large crowds at rallies do not necessarily translate into votes.

“They have populations, but they are also a rented crowd. It’s very easy to rent. You can rent a voter, but I think voting is a different thing from attending a rally,” he said.

He argued that the effects of poverty and insecurity over the past three years had significantly affected Nigerians and would remain important issues ahead of the elections.

Baba-Ahmed also said several opposition parties in the emerging coalition were facing court cases, making collective support particularly important.

“In the coalition that we have now, we have about eight or nine parties. Five or six all have court cases. We’ve settled ours now, but others have even more profound challenges,” he said.

He further alleged that the APC had sometimes engaged in unfair political practices, but said opposition parties were also taking steps to protect themselves.

“We know that the APC is not particularly innocent when it comes to playing dirty. We have evidence sometimes that supports this kind of thing, but I would say we don’t sleep with both eyes closed, and other parties don’t either,” he said.

The PRP chairman maintained that no opposition party could defeat the APC on its own, citing the ruling party’s financial resources, incumbency and political structures.

He said the emerging coalition, involving about eight parties, was working to establish a common identity and policy priorities before settling the question of presidential candidates.

According to him, the coalition wants to present Nigerians with a programme addressing insecurity, poverty, economic management, youth opportunities, corruption and the structure of the Nigerian state.

“We want Nigerians not just to see us as seeking to replace President Tinubu, but also because there are things we can challenge them on that we will do for the next four years after 2027,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed said the coalition was establishing working groups and developing an identity that would guide its activities ahead of the 2027 elections.