A former Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum, Salihu Lukman, has disclosed that efforts are underway to unite former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, alongside other opposition figures, to present a single candidate against President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress in the 2027 presidential election.
Lukman, a former APC chieftain, said a framework had been proposed to opposition leaders to enable them to work together and present a united front to Nigerians ahead of the election.
Speaking in an interview with Arise News, he said the ultimate objective was for the opposition to agree on one presidential candidate based on criteria jointly determined by the parties and their leaders.
“The ultimate objective is that we want to have one candidate, but it cannot be by declaration. They have to sit down and agree on the criteria they are going to apply in determining that candidate. They will agree among themselves,” Lukman said.
He stressed that no individual or group would dictate the choice of candidate to the opposition, adding that the parties must collectively determine the most viable candidate.
According to him, opposition politicians must decide whether they merely want to contest the 2027 election or genuinely want to win and form the next government.
“At the end of the day, there will only be one president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The question they need to answer themselves is, “Do they just want to be candidates, or do they want to win the election to become president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?” he said.
Lukman argued that the opposition’s major challenge was not competition among its leading figures but the APC and Tinubu.
“They have to work together, and the primary opponent is the APC and President Bola Tinubu. So, when you now begin to pose the question as if the primary opponent is either former Vice President Atiku Abubakar or former Governor Peter Obi, you get it wrong,” he said.
He said the proposed framework would enable the opposition parties and their leaders to operate as a united body and eventually present Nigerians with a single candidate in 2027.
“As far as we are concerned, we are putting forward a structure, and we are putting a proposal to them to consider, which will lead to the formation of that structure that will enable them to work as a united body, on the basis of which, by the 2027 election, they will present Nigerians with a united front,” Lukman said.
He maintained that the ultimate goal was to provide Nigerians with a credible alternative capable of defeating the ruling party.
“We believe that the 2027 election should present a credible option for Nigeria in such a way that Nigerians can have confidence to queue behind that candidate, vote for that candidate, and vote out the APC and President Bola Tinubu. I think there is no debate about that,” he added.
