2027: Seven weeks after G100 summit, questions persist over five unity documents

Seven weeks after six opposition parties agreed to produce five documents to guide their cooperation ahead of the 2027 general elections, questions remain over whether the documents have been completed.

Representatives of the parties have since consulted five politicians identified by G100 as presidential candidates.

G100 coordinator Salihu Lukman says they have agreed on basic terms for a working group to develop options for selecting a common candidate.

However, PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify whether the five documents proposed at the 31 August summit had been completed, submitted or adopted.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Hard Copy programme on 16 October, Mr Lukman said the parties had taken greater responsibility for the negotiations. He also acknowledged continuing distrust among parties and candidates, warning that efforts to agree on a common candidate might not succeed.

Consultations with five candidates

On 14 October, Mr Lukman announced that national chairpersons and secretaries of six opposition parties had consulted five presidential candidates over approximately two weeks.

Those consulted, according to Mr Lukman, were Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Seyi Makinde, Adewole Adebayo and Donald Duke.

The six participating parties were the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

According to Mr Lukman, the consultations were intended to advance the August summit resolutions, identify common ground and develop arrangements for cooperation.

“We have succeeded beyond some of our expectations,” he said during the Channels Television interview.

He did not announce a final agreement among the presidential candidates.

What ADC says

In a separate interview with PREMIUM TIMES, ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi confirmed his party’s involvement in the G100 discussions.

He described the talks as efforts to establish electoral cooperation, including arrangements to protect opposition votes, rather than negotiations aimed specifically at producing a single presidential candidate.

His account places the consultations within a broader coordination effort, while Mr Lukman’s remarks identify the selection of a possible common candidate as one of the issues under consideration.

Neither official confirmed an agreement requiring any participating party to withdraw its presidential candidate or support a single ticket.

Mr Abdullahi added that the parties’ national chairpersons and secretaries were leading the discussions, with Mr Lukman allowing them greater responsibility after initially bringing them together.

Kwankwaso, ADC clash over common candidate

The difficulties facing a possible common-candidate arrangement were underlined by a public disagreement between the ADC Presidential Campaign Council and Rabiu Kwankwaso, vice-presidential candidate of the NDC.

The exchange followed Mr Kwankwaso’s call for ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to step aside in favour of the NDC’s Peter Obi.

On 16 October, ADC campaign council spokesperson Kola Ologbondiyan accused Mr Kwankwaso of undermining opposition unity and advancing President Bola Tinubu’s political interests.

He said the former Kano State governor should focus on challenging the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) rather than attacking other opposition candidates.

Mr Kwankwaso rejected the allegation on 18 October.

“We will not withdraw our candidature for ADC or any other party,” he said, reaffirming the Obi–Kwankwaso ticket’s intention to contest the presidential election.

He denied working for the APC and criticised both the ruling party and the ADC, arguing that neither offered the alternative his party was presenting to Nigerians.

The ADC campaign council responded later the same day, accusing Mr Kwankwaso of directing his criticism at the ADC rather than the Tinubu administration. It challenged him to align openly with the APC if that was his agenda.

Although Mr Kwankwaso rejected withdrawing the NDC ticket, he did not announce the party’s withdrawal from G100 consultations.

The disagreement highlights the competing presidential ambitions that the proposed Roadmap to a Common Presidential Candidate would have to address.

The five documents and the timetable

At the 31 August summit, the parties proposed five working groups to prepare documents intended to guide their cooperation ahead of the 2027 elections.

The National Covenant for Democratic Renewal would establish the principles underpinning the proposed alliance, while the Single-Term Transition Charter would outline the terms and safeguards of a possible single four-year transitional government.

The National Reform Programme would identify shared policy priorities, while the Framework for Opposition Unity would define the structures and procedures for cooperation among the participating parties.

The fifth document, the Roadmap to a Common Presidential Candidate, would set out the process for negotiating and selecting a common presidential candidate.

The working groups were initially expected to complete their assignments within four weeks for consideration by the coalition leadership.

The Central Leadership Committee subsequently held its inaugural meeting on 16 September.

According to a statement reported the following day, the committee directed participating parties to submit nominees to the working groups by 18 September, with work scheduled to begin between 21 and 27 September.

It remains unclear whether the original deadline was maintained or extended, whether nominees were submitted on time or whether all five groups commenced work as planned.

During his 16 October interview, Mr Lukman referred to the nomination of representatives to the common-candidate working group as part of the process ahead.

He did not clarify whether these were outstanding nominations under the September timetable or appointments for a subsequent stage of negotiations.

Available statements also do not establish whether the working groups submitted their proposed documents for consideration by the coalition leadership.

Next steps and minimum programme

Mr Lukman said the common-candidate working group would develop recommendations and options to guide negotiations among the participating parties.

He acknowledged that distrust among political parties and their candidates could prevent them from reaching an agreement.

“For us, unless that is addressed, all these issues about coming up with a united front or a single candidate, we may not be able to achieve it,” he said during a Channels Television interview, as quoted by TheCable.

Mr Lukman said the negotiations would extend beyond the presidential contest to governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections.

On policy, he explained that the objective was not to merge the participating parties’ manifestos but to develop a minimum programme of action reflecting priorities their candidates could endorse.

He cited petroleum subsidies as an example of an issue requiring further discussion, saying Atiku’s proposed domestic production subsidy needed a clearer implementation framework.

Mr Lukman did not indicate that the parties had adopted a common petroleum policy.

Lukman’s role

Mr Lukman had earlier suspended his ADC membership over internal disagreements, particularly concerning developments in his Kaduna constituency.

He acknowledged that his association with the party had initially raised concerns among some G100 participants.

Allowing the participating parties’ leaderships to take charge of negotiations, he said, helped address those concerns.

He did not say whether he had resumed his ADC membership.

Efforts to obtain responses

PREMIUM TIMES emailed Mr Lukman on 3 October and in subsequent correspondence, seeking clarification on difficulties in securing a common presidential candidate, possible cooperation in a presidential run-off, the progress of the five working groups and the proposed second summit.

He has not responded as of this report.

On 9 October, the newspaper contacted NDC spokesperson Osa Director with similar questions about the party’s participation in the working groups, reports received and its position on a common candidate or run-off cooperation.

Despite WhatsApp reminders and telephone calls, no substantive response was received. Mr Director answered one call and promised to respond later.

Mr Lukman’s subsequent public remarks on Channels Television did not clarify the status of the five documents.

What happens next?

Seven weeks after the summit, G100 has reported consultations with five politicians identified as presidential candidates and plans for further negotiations. However, no binding agreement on a common ticket has been announced.

The disagreement between the ADC and Mr Kwankwaso highlights the competing presidential ambitions that the proposed common-candidate framework would need to address.

With the original four-week timetable elapsed, questions remain over whether the five working groups have completed their documents, when the participating parties will consider them and whether the proposed second summit will take place.