The opposition’s search for a common presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general election is facing fresh challenges as supporters of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi disagree over who should lead the proposed coalition against President Bola Tinubu.
The disagreement comes as the G100 coalition considers candidates from five political parties for a possible consensus ticket, with competing presidential ambitions, ideological differences and a lack of trust threatening efforts to unite the opposition.
The parties reportedly under consideration are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).
While some opposition figures favour rallying behind Atiku, others insist that any arrangement must accommodate Obi and his political partnership with former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso.
G100 considers five parties for consensus candidate
The G100 coalition, convened by Salihu Lukman, is pursuing a gradual approach to selecting a single opposition candidate, according to The Guardian.
An influential member of the group told the newspaper that the coalition intended to monitor the performance and public acceptance of candidates before narrowing its options.
The source said the strategy was designed to address the reluctance of some presidential aspirants to abandon their ambitions before testing their popularity among voters.
Governor Seyi Makinde and SDP presidential candidate Adewole Adebayo are among those reportedly opposed to arrangements that could exclude them from the race.
According to the source, both politicians believe that sidelining them could benefit Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC), particularly by influencing voting patterns in the South-West.
The source added that the coalition hoped to reduce the number of contenders to five before assessing their campaigns and prospects closer to the election.
Makinde has also urged Tinubu to withdraw from the presidential race, arguing that the president’s failure to groom a successor makes the case for a credible South-West candidate more pressing.
Adebayo, however, has maintained that Nigerians must retain the freedom to choose their next president without political arrangements limiting their options.
He argued that replacing one administration with another would make little difference if the incoming government failed to improve citizens’ quality of life.
The disagreement over the opposition’s preferred candidate has also exposed competing strategies among influential political figures.
Former Rivers State governor and ex-Minister of Transportation Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi has backed an Atiku-led ticket, arguing that the former vice-president offers a viable route to challenging the APC.
Speaking at a town hall meeting in Calabar, Cross River State, Amaechi said the opposition should encourage other parties to rally behind the ADC candidate.
He pointed to Atiku’s geographical reach and electoral arithmetic as factors supporting his position.
Prof. Pat Utomi, convener of the Big Tent Coalition, has taken a different position, insisting that he would not support a consensus arrangement that did not revolve around an Obi-Kwankwaso ticket under the NDC.
The contrasting positions underline the difficulty of persuading opposition leaders to set aside their individual preferences in favour of a common candidate.
Lukman, meanwhile, has expressed optimism that the coalition could still achieve its objective.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Hard Copy, he said the group had engaged leaders from different political parties in an effort to build support for a unified opposition platform.
He warned that the exercise could fail if political leaders and their supporters refused to accept a candidate other than their preferred choice.
Lukman also identified mistrust among opposition parties and presidential aspirants as a major obstacle to the process.
He urged supporters to encourage their leaders to consider the country’s long-term interests rather than focus solely on personal political ambitions.
Tensions escalated further as Kwankwaso rejected suggestions that he should withdraw his political ambition in favour of Atiku.
The former Kano governor criticised the former vice-president, questioning whether he had demonstrated the capacity to provide Nigerians with better leadership than the incumbent administration.
The ADC Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC), however, accused Kwankwaso of directing his criticism at Atiku instead of holding the ruling APC accountable for its record.
In a statement, the council’s Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the opposition should concentrate on issues affecting Nigerians, including economic hardship, insecurity, rising fuel prices, naira depreciation and declining living standards.
The council also questioned why Kwankwaso appeared to focus more on the ADC and its candidate than on the ruling party.
It maintained that its priority remained mobilising Nigerians around an alternative to the APC-led government.
Kwankwaso responded through his verified social media account, accusing the ADC campaign machinery of spreading misinformation about his political intentions and the future of the NDC ticket.
He dismissed suggestions that his political movement was working to advance Tinubu’s re-election bid or the interests of other APC candidates.
DDM reports that Kwankwaso has rejected claims that the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket would eventually align with the ADC at the last minute.
He insisted that the NDC would not withdraw its candidature in favour of the ADC or any other party.
The former governor maintained that his partnership with Obi had the credibility, competence and nationwide acceptance required to challenge the ruling party.
Amid the disagreements, Mark Adebayo, chief communications adviser to the Adebayo-Bugaje Presidential Campaign, warned that opposition parties might have started their coalition discussions too late to build the structures needed for a successful joint campaign.
Speaking with reporters in Abuja, he argued that preparations for a single presidential ticket should have begun at least three years earlier.
According to him, agreeing on a candidate alone would not be enough without the political infrastructure and grassroots mobilisation required to support the arrangement.
He also cited differences in the parties’ political and governance ideologies as another challenge to building a united front.
Despite his concerns, Adebayo said an opposition candidate could still challenge Tinubu if the campaign adopted an effective strategy and mobilised Nigerians around its proposed changes to governance.
He maintained that Adewole Adebayo remained committed to pursuing the presidency.
The unfolding disagreements have placed renewed attention on whether opposition parties can reconcile their competing ambitions before the 2027 presidential election.
Although the G100 coalition is seeking a common candidate, the positions taken by different political figures suggest that reaching an agreement will require more than discussions about electoral strategy.
Lukman has warned that mistrust among parties and candidates could undermine the entire exercise if it is not addressed.
The coalition must also contend with aspirants unwilling to abandon their presidential ambitions and supporters reluctant to accept alternative candidates.
With the election approaching, the central question remains whether the opposition can agree on a shared political platform while addressing the differences that continue to divide its leading figures.
For now, the push for a single presidential candidate remains a work in progress, with the positions of Atiku’s and Obi’s camps among the major issues confronting the proposed alliance.
