A coalition of opposition politicians under the banner of G-100 on Tuesday met with the Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives to convince the opposition parties to present a common candidate for the 2027 presidential elections.
The move is part of efforts by opposition politicians to present a common candidate and unseat President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.
Naija News reports that the G-100 was led by its Convener and former Director-General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Mallam Salihu Lukman, while the House Minority Leader, Hon. Fred Agbedi, led the House Minority Caucus at the meeting.
Speaking during the meeting, Lukman expressed concerns about what he described as the deplorable state of the nation and the consistent dwindling fortunes of the opposition parties.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain lamented that the opposition parties may lose the 2027 general elections as they did in 2023 if they fail to present a united front against the APC.
According to him, “As opposition parties, we seem to be fragmented. And if we continue the way we are going, we are almost going to replay the 2023 scenario. And it’s almost like a case of handing over victory to the ruling party. And then we’ll go back to square one.”
He urged the opposition leaders to sacrifice their individual political ambitions, warning that allowing the APC to secure another four years would spell doom for the nation.
“We feel, given the situation the country is facing today, the country cannot afford another four years of APC government. And that whatever it will take to get our leaders back together, to do the needful, and begin to work together to ensure victory in the 2027 election. We need to do it,” Lukman said.
He declared that the G-100 was established to rescue Nigeria from what he described as the rudderless leadership of the Tinubu administration. He reiterated the need for opposition leaders to present a common front in 2027.
He said, “Our mission is simple. It was a follow-up to the open letter we issued to our leaders, of which you are part of that leadership, and we all came together out of concern,” adding that the concern was that opposition parties remained too fragmented to mount an effective challenge against the APC.
He explained that, in light of the current challenges facing Nigeria, it is imperative for opposition leaders to put aside their differences and work toward a common political objective, assuring that the G-100 was prepared to facilitate whatever negotiations were necessary to bring the opposition together ahead of the 2027 polls.
Lukman disclosed during the meeting that their group had already embarked on consultations with key leaders across six opposition political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), New Nigeria Democratic Party (NDC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Action Peoples Movement (APM), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP).
He disclosed that the consultations involved presidential candidates, running mates and national chairmen of the parties, with G-100 presenting its argument that opposition leaders needed to negotiate a common front if they were serious about defeating the APC.
He added that the responses from the parties have been encouraging and that is what prompted the decision to convene a national summit of opposition leaders fixed for August 31.
He urged the Minority Caucus and other opposition stakeholders to support the initiative, saying the group did not want to proceed alone but intended to bring together Nigerians and political leaders committed to defeating the APC.
“This is not about us; it’s about the country. We are appealing that all leaders who have agreed, we should all come and join hands together and ensure that we support our leaders from the different parties to come together and agree to work towards having a common front for the 2027 election to guarantee victory against the APC.
“We want to ensure that everybody who believes has a role to play is invited. We work with everyone, and that is why we are here. You are our leaders; we want to work with you to reach out to all our leaders and ensure they get it right so that our people can begin to have some comfort that the 2027 election will not be business as usual,” Lukman stated.
He added that the G-100, which began with about 100 people, has continued to expand and grow beyond its initial membership.
In his response, the Minority Leader, Fred Agbedi, declared the full support of the caucus for the G-100.
He added that the House Minority Caucus had already begun its own consultations with opposition parties, presidential candidates and their nominees to build a formidable opposition ahead of 2027.
“When we saw the G100, it matched our position. And so, this is a marriage of confidence, and we believe that we are keyed in already, individually and collectively, as opposition parties in the House of Representatives in particular,” he said.
He assured the G-100 that the Minority Caucus was ready to work with them and participate in the technical committee established to advance the opposition-unity agenda, adding that the ultimate objective was to “work together to salvage Nigeria.”
“As minorities, that was our objective, and because of that, a number of us haven’t travelled since we went on vacation because we decided that we must go around all the parties and the presidential candidates and the other members to make sure that we come together and create a strong and virile opposition for the 2027 election,” Agbedi said.
Also speaking, former member of the House, Sergius Ogun, expressed optimism that the opposition parties can unseat President Tinubu if only they present a common candidate.
“The weakest of us can defeat this President (Tinubu), but it will be sweeter if we come together. Sweeter, sweeter, swifter and more pleasurable. And we feel we should bring the house together, have a common front,” he stated.
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