What City People Found Out
Right now, many of the opposition parties in Nigeria are in disarray. All of them don’t want Pres. Bola Tinubu to go for a 2nd term, yet many of their strategies are not just working.
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the PDP is one of the arrowheads of the opposition.
Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party is another one. And then, Mallam El-Rufai of the SDP.
The 3 of them, along with many others have been working strenuously towards achieving a strategy to tackle Pres. Bola Tinubu, but it is just not working. All the possible strategies to be adopted keeps changing by the day.
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who was PDP’s flagbearer in the 2023 presidential elections wants to go at it again this time around, but he is facing stiff opposition from inside his party, the PDP. Some of the incumbent Governors are opposed to him running. Some party Chieftains like FCT Minister Nyesom Wike don’t support him.
Mallam El-Rufai is also not finding it easy in the SDP where he decamped to a few months back. He left the APC for the PDP thinking that a lot of the CPC members who left the party for the APC in 2011 will follow him to the SDP. Many have refused.
There are those who feel he can’t be trusted to effectively lead the planned coalition of forces to fight Pres. Tinubu.
Peter Obi also is undecided on what to do. Will he continue in the Labour Party with the Obedients. Or go back to the PDP where he left in 2022 for the Labour Party. Or will he join El-Rufai in SDP, to strengthen the coalition.
Can he run with Atiku? Talks are ongoing. All options have been left open.
As you read this, all the major political parties have been faced with one crisis or the other. The PDP is currently a house divided.
The SDP is in turmoil. And the Labour Party is in tartars.
So, which way forward for the opposition? Atiky feels the PDP is still a good vehicle to use, with Peter Obi, joining him as running mate.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is optimistic that a strategic coalition involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, and other key political figures could lead to a decisive victory over President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the upcoming 2027 presidential elections. This bold assertion was made by the Deputy National Youth Leader of the PDP, Timothy Osadolor last week.
Osadolor expressed confidence that, with genuine commitment and unity among the political heavyweights, such a coalition could potentially conclude the election by 1 pm on election day. He cited the combined 13 million votes garnered by Atiku and Obi in the 2023 election, which surpassed the 8 million votes of Tinubu, as evidence of the formidable strength a united opposition would have.
“If these talks are pursued sincerely and the egos of Atiku, Obi, and El-Rufai are set aside, Nigeria could indeed be looking at a winning team,” Osadolor said. He emphasized that a united opposition would rally Nigerians against the ruling APC, particularly given the widespread dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs, including growing hunger, insecurity, and economic frustration.
Last week, news broke that Atiku & Co. are going to the ADC. But the Atiku Group promptly denied going to ADC. “It said, there appears to be some mischief makers promoting and planting stories in the media with the clear aim of sowing seeds of discord among coalition leaders,” were the words with which the camp of Atiku Abubakar-led coalition, seeking to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027, dismissed the reports that it has adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the purpose.
Salihu Moh. Lukman, a member of the coalition, in a quick riposte, maintained that nothing has been agreed on, contrary to the wide-spread reports that the ADC, which has been existing since 2003, was the preferred destination.
Describing the media reports as misleading, Lukman, who was a former member of the National Working Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), also denied his purported appointment to head the secretariat of the coalition, as reflected in the earlier reports.
Urging the public to disregard the report, Lukman, who is the former Director General of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), described it as false and stressed that negotiation was still ongoing and that formal announcements would be made by the leaders of the coalition.
Ironically, Pres. Tinubu is making substantial progress.
In a resounding show of support, the National Assembly has formally adopted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the sole presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2027 general election.
The declaration was made last Thursday at the APC National Summit in Abuja, themed “Renewed Hope Agenda: The Journey So Far,” where the leadership of the National Assembly, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, spoke on behalf of federal lawmakers.
Senator Akpabio extolled President Tinubu’s leadership and reform-driven governance, describing his tenure as one that has steered the country through difficult times and put Nigeria firmly on the path to economic recovery and growth.
“In view of the political sagacity of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the fact that he has, even in difficult times, set Nigeria on a path of sustainable growth—as confirmed by the International Monetary Fund—and in view of the excitement of Nigerians, particularly at the grassroots, and the overwhelming support from members of the National Assembly, I move that President Tinubu be adopted as the sole presidential candidate of our great party for the 2027 elections,” Akpabio declared.
He went further to say that Tinubu’s performance has left the opposition in disarray and that Nigerians are eager to reward him with a second term in office.
“The people are saying: because you have done a difficult job well, it is time to return you to the Presidency for a second term”, Akpabio said.
At the APC Renewed Hope Agenda Summit, held at the State House Conference Centre on Thursday, President Tinubu addressed party leaders, the National Working Committee, the leadership of the National Assembly, and the Progressive Governors’ Forum, which comprises 22 governors. All collectively endorsed him for a second term. The party convened the summit to review the administration’s two-year performance across key economic sectors.
The President said his administration’s focus on economic reforms for long-term gains has continued to receive positive reviews from within and outside the country. “A one-party system is not suitable for democracy. We are one party ruling and carrying on with the aspirations of Nigerians. You don’t expect people to remain in a sinking ship without a life jacket. I am happy with what we have accomplished and expecting more people to come; that’s the game,” he added.
President Tinubu said citizens have the constitutional right to choose between associations. “I thank every one of you. I am thoroughly inspired. We are just halfway through the journey that started 24 months ago,” he said.
The President thanked members of the Federal Executive Council for courageously pursuing the vision of a better Nigeria and the party leadership and National Assembly for their support.
“Today, I am proud to affirm that our economic reforms are working. Nothing good comes easy in life. All of you have been through life, and sometimes, only hard decisions can make things easy in the future. “We couldn’t just afford to spend the future of our children and unborn babies.
“Through our Renewed Hope Agenda, our administration pledged to tackle economic instability, improve security nationwide, reduce corruption, reform governance, and lift our people out of poverty”.
“How fast could you have rebuilt this country? If you allow the arbitrage in the exchange rate to continue, that is the grandfather of corruption. You could see EFCC recover over seven hundred and fifty-something houses from one person,” he said.
The President admitted that the reforms were tough decisions but assured Nigerians they were necessary.
The Progressives Governors Forum Chairman and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, said the President had provided inspiring and visionary leadership and deserved a second term in 2027. He thus moved a motion passing a vote of confidence in the President and endorsing him for the 2027 race. Governor of Kaduna State, Sen. Uba Sani, seconded the motion.
The President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas also praised the President for purposeful and inclusive leadership.
The leaders of the National Assembly said they would support the President for a second term in office and also moved a motion to endorse him.
The APC Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, who led the NWC members to endorse President Tinubu for a second term, said the President would be the party’s sole candidate for the 2027 presidential elections.
