2027: Opposition Parties to Unveil Consensus Presidential Candidate Days Before Election – Lukman

Salihu Lukman, convener of the G100 political pressure group and former National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has said opposition parties may wait until a few days before the 2027 general elections to announce a consensus presidential candidate.

Lukman disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Hard Copy programme, expressing confidence that opposition leaders were committed to working together to challenge the ruling APC.

He explained that the announcement could come weeks or months before the election, or even just days before the polls, depending on the progress of negotiations among the participating parties.

According to him, the process is progressing beyond the six political parties initially involved, with efforts underway to bring additional parties into the alliance.

The G100 was established to promote opposition unity following an all-opposition summit held in Ibadan in April 2026, where participants agreed to pursue a common presidential candidate to challenge the APC in 2027.

Lukman said the political parties and their presidential candidates had taken ownership of the initiative, moving discussions beyond the pressure group’s original framework to build mutual trust and agreement.

He identified the lack of trust among opposition parties and their candidates as the most significant challenge facing the coalition.

He noted that a meeting held on August 31 agreed to establish five working groups, including one tasked with developing a framework for selecting a single consensus presidential candidate.

Lukman explained that each participating party would nominate representatives to the relevant working group through its leadership or presidential candidate, ensuring that decisions were made by individuals with the parties’ formal mandates.

He said the arrangement was designed to give both political parties and their candidates ownership of the process rather than allowing external individuals to determine the outcome.

Lukman Warns Against Opposition Division

Addressing concerns over the willingness of supporters of Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar and the Kwankwasiyya movement to accept a consensus candidate, Lukman warned that rigid political positions could undermine the opposition’s chances in 2027.

He argued that refusing to compromise in the interest of a united opposition could ultimately benefit the ruling APC and the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Lukman said several signatories to the G100’s open letter supported either Obi or Atiku but had been reminded that Nigeria’s interests should take precedence over individual political ambitions.

He also cited remarks by John Cardinal Onaiyekan on Channels Television, stressing that opposition candidates could not divide their votes among several contenders and still expect one of them to defeat the ruling party.

According to Lukman, the opposition must recognise the electoral consequences of splitting its support among multiple presidential candidates.

Opposition Working on Common Policy Programme

On differences among the parties’ manifestos, Lukman clarified that the initiative was not intended to merge their policy documents but to develop a minimum programme of action for implementation by the government that emerges after the 2027 elections.

He referenced differing policy proposals among the candidates, including the Social Democratic Party’s position on an initial petrol pump price of ₦300 per litre, as an example of the issues requiring consideration.

Lukman said the proposed programme would establish shared priorities to which all participating candidates would commit before a consensus candidate was selected.

He added that this would help prevent disagreements over policy direction if any of the candidates eventually emerged as the opposition’s flagbearer.

He expressed confidence that much of the groundwork had already been completed by the various presidential campaigns, including those of Peter Obi, Prince Adewole Adebayo and other opposition figures.

Lukman said the eventual arrangement could see the African Democratic Congress (ADC) emerge as the platform for the candidate, another existing party take the lead, or an alliance establish a new political party.

He, however, dismissed suggestions that his involvement was driven by personal political ambition, insisting that he was not seeking an elective or appointive position.

Warning opposition politicians against placing their individual ambitions above the collective objective, he said only one person would eventually become Nigeria’s president after the 2027 election.

Lukman Returns to ADC

The former APC national officer also addressed his earlier withdrawal of membership from the African Democratic Congress, attributing the decision to internal disagreements within the party in Kaduna State.

He disclosed that he had since resumed membership of the ADC.

Lukman said his earlier concerns stemmed from fears that the party was moving towards the same practices and internal problems associated with the political parties its members had previously abandoned.

He maintained that the opposition’s ability to build trust, accommodate competing interests and agree on a common direction would be critical to its prospects of defeating the APC in the 2027 general elections.