By Bello Yusuf
(SINL NIGERIA) Nigeria’s opposition parties have agreed to present a united front in the 2027 general elections.
Specifically, they resolved to field a single presidential candidate against incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
This followed meeting of the National Summit of Opposition Political Leaders held on Saturday in Ibadan, Oyo State, where stakeholders gathered to deliberate on the country’s political and economic challenges and chart a path forward.
At the summit, themed “Safeguarding Nigeria’s Democracy: A National Dialogue,” participants warned that Nigeria’s democratic system is under increasing pressure and requires urgent, collective intervention to protect its integrity.
The meeting culminated in the adoption of a joint communiqué, dubbed the Ibadan Declaration, which outlined the opposition’s strategy ahead of the next general elections.
Central to the resolution was the agreement to rally behind a consensus presidential candidate to avoid vote fragmentation and improve the opposition’s electoral prospects.
Speaking at the event, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde cautioned against what he described as a gradual erosion of democratic competition, noting that the dominance of a single political party could undermine pluralism.
“Democracy without opposition is not democracy; it is a slow drift toward a one-party state,” he said, recalling Ibadan’s historic “wet e” political crisis as a warning against political intolerance.
Similarly, factional National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tanimu Turaki, described the coalition move as both strategic and necessary, stressing that internal divisions have long weakened opposition parties.
“A single stick can be broken easily, but a bundle of sticks is far more difficult to break,” he said, urging political actors to prioritise national interest over personal ambition.
Former Senate President David Mark also described the initiative as a “national rescue mission,” insisting that no single opposition party could effectively challenge the current political structure on its own.
“We cannot confront the future as fragmented entities. This is the time to rewrite the story of coalition building in Nigeria,” he said.
The Ibadan Declaration further reaffirmed the opposition’s commitment to contesting the 2027 elections at all levels, while rejecting what they termed attempts to steer the country toward a one-party system.
On electoral matters, the opposition leaders expressed concerns over the credibility of the process, passing a vote of no confidence in the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, and calling for his removal from overseeing the 2027 polls.
