Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the G100 political movement and the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives have intensified consultations aimed at bringing opposition parties and political actors together under a common platform capable of challenging the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
The development followed a meeting between the G100 delegation, led by its Convener, Salihu Lukman, and the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives, led by Minority Leader, Fred Agbedi, at the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The meeting, according to them, is part of the G100’s ongoing consultations with opposition leaders and stakeholders ahead of a proposed Summit of opposition Political Parties in Nigeria scheduled for late August
Speaking after the meeting, Fred Agbedi described the engagement as successful, saying it marked the “consummation” of the partnership between the G100 and the Minority Caucus.
Agbedi said both groups had agreed to combine their efforts towards strengthening democracy and providing Nigerians with a credible alternative ahead of the 2027 elections, calling on opposition parties, political leaders and presidential candidates to look beyond individual ambitions and begin negotiations towards a common political arrangement capable of mounting a serious challenge to the APC.
According to him, the prevailing economic and social difficulties facing Nigerians have made opposition unity more urgent, insisting that political differences should not be allowed to undermine the broader objective of providing an alternative government.
On his part, Salihu Lukman, a former APC National Vice Chairman and a prominent critic of the Tinubu-led administration, said the G100 initiative was driven by concern over the political direction of the country and the inability of opposition forces to coordinate their activities.
He explained that the movement was established to persuade opposition leaders and political actors to negotiate a common political arrangement ahead of the 2027 elections, rather than promote the interest of any particular individual, party or organisation.
Lukman said the central concern was that opposition parties remained too divided to mount an effective challenge against the ruling party.
He disclosed that the movement had already commenced consultations with political leaders across six opposition parties as part of efforts to build support for the proposed alliance, which involves presidential candidates, running mates and national chairmen of the parties, with the G100 presenting its case for a negotiated common front.
The parties consulted, according to him, include the African Democratic Congress (ADC), New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Action Peoples Movement (APM), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) with responses he described as largely encouraging
The G100 group and the Minority Caucus noted that opposition unity will be essential if the parties are to mount a credible challenge to the APC in 2027, a feat that will largely depend on the unity of various political actors across the opposition parties.
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(Editor: Ken Eseni)
