Opposition Leaders Move Closer Ahead Of 2027
Opposition leaders have renewed calls for greater cooperation ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi declaring his readiness to work with whoever Nigerians choose as president.
Obi spoke on Monday in Abuja at the commissioning of the Allied Peoples Movement presidential campaign office of its candidate, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, and his running mate, Lawal Daura.
The event brought together opposition figures, including Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed and former Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, in what further highlighted efforts to strengthen cooperation among parties seeking to challenge the All Progressives Congress.
Obi said opposition candidates were not divided and that the priority should be to allow Nigerians to freely choose their next leaders through a credible election.
He said he would support whoever emerged from a free, fair and credible process, adding that opposition leaders should be prepared to work together for the country regardless of who wins.
Read also: Obi Calls for Issue-Based Election Campaigns
“For us, we don’t have desperation. We want the people of Nigeria to make their choice. Whoever they choose, all of us will come together to build a new Nigeria,” Obi said.
He said opposition politics should focus less on disagreements and more on issues such as poverty, hunger and insecurity.
“We want a Nigeria where a child of nobody can be somebody without knowing anybody, that’s what we want. And we think all of us will work as a family,” he said.
Makinde, who used the occasion to present his political agenda, said his campaign would focus on providing Nigerians with an alternative approach to governance.
On the debate over fuel subsidy, the Oyo governor said Nigeria’s crude oil should provide a direct benefit to Nigerians through the price at which crude is supplied to local refineries.
He argued that domestic crude should not be priced as though it had been imported from another country, saying his proposal would be different from an opaque subsidy system.
Makinde also said Nigerians who had dismissed his presidential ambition could be proved wrong by the outcome of the 2027 election.
Read also: Thugs Halt Obi’s Entry Into Benue
Daura, the APM vice-presidential candidate, called for stronger cooperation among opposition parties and said leaders needed to distinguish between candidates who were eligible to contest and those capable of winning an election.
He said opposition parties should work together to provide what he described as a qualitative opposition that would benefit Nigerians.
Bala Mohammed also urged Nigerians not to dismiss the APM, describing Makinde as a leader capable of managing resources and delivering development.
The party’s National Chairman, Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, said the new campaign office would serve as the centre of its activities ahead of the 2027 election.
He said the party would run an issue-based campaign focused on solutions, competence and the future of Nigeria.
Aliyu, who attended the event as a representative of the Peoples Democratic Party faction led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, also called for greater cooperation among opposition leaders.
He said the Abuja meeting was the second gathering of opposition figures following an earlier meeting in Ibadan and stressed the need for a united approach to issues affecting the country.
The renewed calls for cooperation come as opposition parties and presidential candidates increase their political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
