Reps Minority caucus mobilise opposition to present common candidate for 2027 election

The Minority caucus of the House of Representatives said on Tuesday that it has began consultations with opposition political.parties and their Presidential candidates with a view to presenting a common front for the 2027 Presidential election.

Minority Leader Fred Agbedi (PDP, Bayelsa) said they were working round the clock to ensure that all candidates from the opposition parties build a formidable opposition ahead of 2027.

Speaking at a meeting with members of the G100 led by it’s convener, Salihu Lukman, Agbedi who is a member of the Turaki led camp of the PDP said the caucus had deliberately remained engaged with the initiative during the legislative recess because of its determination to foster opposition unity.

He said “When we saw the G100, it matches 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 assured the delegation that the Minority Caucus would work with it 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.”

Speaking earlier, leader of the delegation Salihu Lukman said the consultation with opposition stakeholders is aimed at uniting them with a view to unseating President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.

Lukman said the initiative was driven by concerns over the state of the nation and the fragmentation among opposition parties, adding that the opposition risked repeating the mistakes of the 2023 general elections if the various parties and their leaders failed to work together.

Lukman who is a former National Vice Chairman of the APC and the ADC as well as Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum said: “As opposition parties, we seem to be fragmented and if we continue the way we are going, we are almost going to replay 2023 scenario. It is almost like a case of handing over victory to the ruling party and we’ll go back to square one.”

He stressed that the prevailing situation in the country made it imperative for opposition leaders to close ranks and present a credible alternative to the electorate, stressing that Nigeria could not afford another four years under the APC administration.

“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 said the group has already met with leaders of six political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nigeria Democratic Party (NDC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Lukman said the delegation met with the presidential candidates, their running mates and national chairmen of the parties, presenting its proposal for the opposition to negotiate a common front ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

He said the consultations produced “very encouraging responses” from most of the political leaders, adding that the next phase would be a national summit of opposition leaders, scheduled for August 31 after the initial date was postponed to accommodate the signing of the Peace Accord with the National Peace Committee.

He asked 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 in order to guarantee victory against APC,” he said.

Lukman also said that the group has grown beyond the original 100 individuals who signed its initial declaration, explaining that the initiative remained open to Nigerians who believed they had a role to play in achieving opposition unity and ensuring a competitive 2027 election.

He said: “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”.

A former member of the House of Representatives, Sergius Ogun said that opposition parties can defeat President Tinubu in the Presidential election if they united behind a common platform.

He said: “The weakest of us can defeat this President; 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.”

The former Edo Lawmaker argued that the opposition could not effectively challenge the ruling party while operating as separate political blocs, stressing that a united front would enable them to speak with one voice on issues affecting Nigerians.

He said: “It’s when we can speak with one voice, because today we have only one individual and one party tormenting this whole country. And the earlier we come together as one body and speak for Nigerians, the better for all of us.”

The meeting, which followed an earlier engagement between the two groups, focused principally on the need to unite opposition political parties and build a common platform capable of challenging the ruling APC in the next presidential election.