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The Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yusuf Dantalle, has urged opposition parties to put Nigeria’s interests ahead of individual political ambitions as they prepare for the 2027 general elections.
Dantalle, who is also the National Chairman of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), said opposition politicians must move beyond personal interests and work towards building a political arrangement capable of addressing the country’s challenges.
His position followed comments by former Cross River State Governor and presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, who had criticised what he described as the desperation of Nigerian politicians and the tendency to prioritise personal interests.
Dantalle said he agreed with Duke’s concerns to some extent, particularly regarding the motivation of politicians seeking public office.
“What His Excellency Donald Duke said, I agree with him to some extent, especially about our desperation. This has been my position, and this also takes us to why people seek political office. Is it to serve the people, or for your personal interest?
“What the G100 is saying, we have our individual interests, but Nigeria comes first.
“We have never had it so bad in Nigeria as it is today. And for that reason, we want a situation where a government can be put together in the name of something like having all the parties or the major parties in the race coming together to form a government that will represent these various interests. It’s not just about winner takes all and loser loses all.”
The IPAC chairman also rejected the claim that opposition parties had no presence in government, pointing to APM governors in Oyo and Bauchi states as evidence.
“First, I disagree with due respect, with the position that when you say there’s no government in the opposition. My party is in opposition. I have two governors—governor of Oyo State and Bauchi State. These are states that you can go and empirically verify what they are doing.”
Dantalle said IPAC’s role was to encourage political parties to pursue electoral victories while ensuring that political competition did not unnecessarily heighten tensions across the country.
“I am also the National Chairman of IPAC, which is the Inter-Party Advisory Council, and so—and what we try, what we do in IPAC is to see that while we seek power in our individual political parties, we should also try as much as possible to reduce tension in the polity. So that has been the deliberate position of the Inter-Party Advisory Council: seek power, but with decorum, work within the confines of the law.”
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On the opposition coalition’s plan to produce a single presidential candidate, Dantalle expressed confidence that the process would eventually yield a consensus.
“It will. Yes, it will. At the end of the day, it will. The discussion just started, so we will get there. We’ll come out with the peculiar solution that will resolve this problem. But I’m very confident that this coalition will come up with something that Nigerians will be surprised.”
He attributed the perceived weakness of some opposition parties to what he alleged were deliberate attempts by powerful individuals to undermine political organisations viewed as threats.
“Regarding political parties and not strong. We are all witness in this country that the judiciary has been used to damage political parties tremendously. We see a lot of political parties that some persons who are in power have used their position to destroy political parties because there’s fear—you feel that this party might be able to come up with this or that. So some of these injuries that—these deliberate injuries to political parties are a major thing.
“The destruction of political parties to a greater extent is deliberate. It is not the function of opposition’s inability to come together, but orchestrated plans by a few individuals who are in power to ensure that these do not stand.”
Dantalle called for reforms to strengthen institutions responsible for sustaining Nigeria’s democratic system, including the judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“Until some of these things are addressed—the constitution, their independence, and the strengthening of institutions that are supposed to champion this course are strengthened.”
The APM chairman said the opposition coalition still had sufficient time to finalise its campaign strategy and present its plans to Nigerians.
“We have four to five months before they can campaign. Everything is possible.”
However, Dantalle declined to predict what would happen if the coalition failed to agree on a single candidate, saying the committee established to address the issue should be allowed to complete its work.
“I won’t say what will happen then. That is why we set up the committee to come up with plans. Yes, so whatever I say now to that effect will be premature.”
