A factional National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kabiru Tanimu-Turaki, on Saturday announced that opposition political parties in Nigeria have agreed to field a single presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
Turaki made the declaration at the National Opposition Summit held in Ibadan, Oyo State, where leaders from multiple political parties gathered to discuss strategy ahead of the next election cycle.
He said the move was aimed at strengthening the opposition’s chances at the polls, despite what he described as alleged attempts to ensure President Bola Tinubu emerges unopposed within the ruling party.
He said the opposition was determined to work together despite what he described as “onslaughts and machinations” allegedly aimed at positioning President Bola Tinubu as the sole candidate for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.
“Despite the onslaughts and machinations of the ruling party, the APC, to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerges as the sole presidential candidate in 2027, we shall field candidates and contest the 2027 presidential and other elections,” he said.
Speaking at the summit, the national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), David Mark alleged that efforts were being made by the APC-led administration to deny Nigerians the right to elect the leaders of their choice.
He claimed that opposition parties are systematically being decimated, adding that institutions meant to safeguard democracy are compromised
“In the last three years, this government has launched major attacks on the opposition parties, all in a bid to deny the people the right to choose. They want to foist a one-party state on Nigeria.
“Institutions that should safeguard our freedom and protect the will of the people are increasingly under assault. The right of citizens to freely choose their leaders is being undermined.
“The independence of democratic institutions is being compromised. In fact, it is becoming increasingly difficult to describe what we have today as a fully functioning democracy in both form and substance,” Mark said.
Still reading the resolutions, Turaki added that opposition parties had resolved to work together to present a single presidential candidate for the elections. “Three, that we shall work towards fielding one presidential candidate for the 2027 elections. We shall be agreed and supported by all participating opposition parties to rescue our nation and our long-suffering masses,” he said.
