A coalition of opposition leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir Lawal, and others, met in Abuja on Sunday, May 25, 2025, to strategize on unseating President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general election. Convened by the National Political Consultative Group (North) at the Abuja Continental Hotel, the meeting aimed to finalize the coalition’s format and platform but was disrupted when Jigawa State delegates protested a delegate selection by Lawal, requiring security personnel to intervene. Order was restored after Mustapha Lamido, son of former Jigawa Governor Sule Lamido, was chosen to represent the state. Other attendees included PDP Board of Trustees Chairman Adolphus Wabara, former Cross River Governor Donald Duke, former Information Minister Jerry Gana, and northern stakeholders, with former Osun Governor Rauf Aregbesola represented.
The coalition remains divided on whether to register a new party, merge with an existing one, or adopt the 1999 Alliance for Democracy (AD)-All Peoples Party (APP) model of fielding a single candidate. The League of Northern Democrats (LND), led by Umar Ardo, pledged support, with two committees formed: one, chaired by former Cross River Governor Liyel Imoke, exploring fusion with an existing party, and another, led by Amaechi, examining a new party, with Ardo as secretary. However, tensions arose when African Democratic Congress (ADC) National Chairman Ralphs Okey Nwosu claimed the ADC was chosen as the coalition’s platform, a statement contradicted by Obi’s insistence on contesting under the Labour Party (LP), which is grappling with internal factions. A source noted that Obi’s stance might be a negotiation tactic, unlike Atiku, who has not publicly tied himself to the PDP. The ADC’s Nwosu, in talks with Atiku, Obi, Amaechi, and former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai, projected concluding coalition talks within one to two weeks, emphasizing grassroots engagement and rejecting the use of the ADC as a mere vehicle for political ambitions.
Speaking at the meeting, Obi highlighted Northern Nigeria’s potential, blaming its insecurity and poverty on poor governance and urging a shift from ethnic and religious voting to competence. He lamented the collapse of Kano’s industries and stressed trust as key to national progress, drawing comparisons with agrarian nations like Bangladesh. Former Attorney General Abubakar Malami also criticized the Tinubu administration’s impact on northern security and agriculture, advocating for a new platform. Despite progress, the coalition’s lack of consensus on a platform, compounded by the ADC-LP-SDP rivalry and Jigawa’s disruption, underscores the challenges of uniting against the APC, which is countering with strategies like automatic tickets for first-term governors to attract defectors.
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