Opposition parties in Nigeria has united to adopt a single presidential candidate to challenge Tinubu ahead of 2027 general elections.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that opposition political parties in Nigeria have agreed to present a single presidential candidate for the 2027 general election in a strategic move to challenge incumbent President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The resolution was reached on Saturday during a national summit of opposition leaders held in Ibadan, where stakeholders also warned that Nigeria’s democracy is facing growing pressure that demands urgent collective action.
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The summit, themed “Safeguarding Nigeria’s Democracy: A National Dialogue,” brought together prominent opposition figures across party lines and culminated in the adoption of a joint communiqué known as the Ibadan Declaration.
Leaders at the meeting said the decision to rally behind a single candidate was aimed at preventing vote fragmentation and strengthening the opposition’s electoral chances.
Governor Seyi Makinde, who hosted the summit, cautioned against what he described as a gradual erosion of democratic competition, warning that excessive concentration of power under one party could weaken pluralism.
“Democracy without opposition is not democracy; it is a slow drift toward a one-party state,” Makinde said.
Also speaking, Taminu Turaki, a factional National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), described the coalition move as both strategic and necessary, stressing that disunity has historically undermined opposition efforts.
Former Senate President David Mark described the initiative as a “national rescue mission,” noting that no single opposition party can effectively challenge the current political structure alone.
“We cannot confront the future as fragmented entities. This is the time to rewrite the story of coalition building in Nigeria,” he said.
