Salihu Lukman, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and convenor of G100, says opposition parties are making progress towards forming an alliance to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general election.
Lukman made this known during an interview with Channels Television aired on Friday, expressing confidence that ongoing consultations with political parties and presidential candidates would produce a common platform.
He said the progress recorded so far had exceeded the expectations of G100, a group advocating cooperation among opposition parties to strengthen their chances in the next general election.
“When we came together as G100, our objective was to engage the political parties and their candidates and get them to recognise the challenge,” he said.
“So far, the indicators are there; we have succeeded beyond some of our expectations, and I’m sure the leadership of the parties will begin to make public statements themselves to indicate the direction they are going.”
The alliance discussions gained momentum recently after six opposition parties consulted five presidential candidates as part of efforts to coordinate their strategies ahead of the 2027 polls.
The parties involved are the ADC, Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).
The consultations involved Atiku Abubakar of the ADC, Seyi Makinde of the APM, Peter Obi of the NDC, Adewole Adebayo of the SDP and Donald Duke of the PRP.
Lukman said opposition parties would struggle to defeat the APC if their presidential candidates contested separately and divided votes among themselves.
He argued that the success of a joint platform would depend on trust among the parties and their candidates, as well as their willingness to set aside individual ambitions for a common political objective.
“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.
The ADC chieftain maintained that opposition leaders needed to recognise the consequences of splitting their support among multiple candidates, warning that such divisions could strengthen the ruling party's chances of retaining power.
He cited remarks by John Onaiyekan, former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, who had cautioned that opposition candidates risked handing victory to the ruling party if they divided their supporters among several contenders.
“There is no way opposition candidates will split people five ways and expect one of them to win against a ruling party; they are just basically handing over victory to the ruling party,” Lukman quoted Onaiyekan as saying.
Despite the challenges involved in negotiating an alliance, Lukman said he remained optimistic that the presidential candidates would agree to cooperate before the election.
“I am positive, and I am very sure that all these candidates are rational. They will accept all these and work together,” he said.
He also said his participation in the initiative was not motivated by a desire to contest an election or secure a political appointment.
According to him, his priority is to encourage opposition leaders to find common ground and place the country's interests above personal ambitions.
“My own personal benefit is not the issue,” he said.
The push for an opposition alliance comes as political parties and their leaders begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 general election, with discussions centred on whether a common candidate and coordinated platform can improve their chances against the APC.
