Opposition’s consensus candidate plan dead – G-100 chieftain

Peter Obi, Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar.

The failure of opposition parties to shelve their individual ambitions in favour of a consensus presidential candidate against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election has effectively ended the prospect of a broad-based coalition, a chieftain of the G-100 political pressure group, Umanu Elijah, has said.

Elijah disclosed this in a telephone interview with The PUNCH on Sunday, saying opposition politicians were unwilling to make the concessions required to forge a united front against the ruling All Progressives Congress.

G-100, a political pressure group convened by former Director-General of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, Salihu Lukman, was established to facilitate a broad-based opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 general election.

The group’s central argument is that opposition parties, if they contest the election independently, would struggle to dislodge the APC, particularly with the ruling party’s political structures and electoral advantages.

As part of its efforts, G-100 has held consultations with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, among other political figures, in a bid to build consensus around a common platform and a single presidential candidate.

The initiative has also sought to bring together opposition parties and influential political actors across party lines, with the expectation that a united front would improve their chances against Tinubu in the 2027 election.

However, the group’s efforts have faced growing doubts as opposition politicians continue to pursue their individual political ambitions and campaign activities, with little indication of an imminent agreement on a common candidate.

The development has raised questions about the feasibility of the coalition project, particularly as the 2027 election approaches and political actors intensify consultations and mobilisation.

Speaking exclusively with The PUNCH on Sunday, Elijah said the single-candidate proposal championed by Lukman had failed.

He said, “The sole candidacy thing is dead and buried. The candidates are not ready to make concessions. You can see what the Allied Peoples Movement is doing. They are going about their campaigns, and none of these candidates is talking about single candidacy.”

The African Democratic Congress and APM’s continued campaign activities, alongside those of other opposition parties, were cited by Elijah as evidence that the prospects of a consensus arrangement had diminished.

The opposition coalition push had been driven by concerns that a divided opposition would split votes and weaken the challenge to the APC in the next general election.

As it were, none of the political gladiators, including Atiku, Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Makinde and Adewale Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party, have shown the slightest willingness to perish their ambition to support whoever will emerge as the consensus candidate, a development likely to see the opposition going into the election as fragmented parties rather than a united coalition of a group driven by common purpose and interest.

Efforts by our correspondent to get Lukman’s reaction were unsuccessful, as he neither answered calls nor responded to messages sent to him on WhatsApp.