Salihu Mohammed Lukman, a key figure in the ongoing coalition discussions among opposition leaders, has stated that negotiations on selecting a political party to serve as the coalition’s platform for the 2027 elections are almost complete.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had confirmed that opposition leaders had formed a coalition aimed at unseating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
His remarks sparked widespread debate and speculation across the country.
However, clarifying the situation on Monday, Lukman, a former National Vice Chairman (North West) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), explained that while consultations were at an advanced stage, no final decisions had been reached yet.
Lukman, who recently left the APC and has been actively involved in forming the opposition coalition, assured that once negotiations were finalized, a formal announcement would be made detailing the coalition’s membership, its political agenda, and the framework for contesting the 2027 elections.
“At this stage of negotiations, the main focus is around getting leaders to agree to work together and substantially there is strong recognition that prospective members should set aside personal ambitions to contest the 2027 elections,” Lukman said.
He highlighted two major issues dominating the discussions: uniting opposition leaders under a common goal and selecting the political party through which the coalition would field its candidates.
Dismissing media reports that suggested internal disagreements were delaying the talks, Lukman stated that discussions on zoning arrangements had not even begun.
“The consensus among leaders is that the final decision about processes of candidates’ selection can only be handled and determined when there is agreement regarding the political party on whose platform the coalition will field candidates,” he added.
Lukman identified finalizing the party platform as the coalition’s biggest hurdle, pointing out that while some members had tried to register new political parties, they faced challenges from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which he accused of deliberately blocking such efforts.
“To make matters worse, many of the existing registered parties who did not meet the electoral threshold of winning any seat in the last general elections face the threat of deregistration. Given this unpleasant reality, members of the coalition opened negotiations with some of the existing parties that have met the electoral threshold,” he said.
He further alleged that some of these existing parties were being destabilized, citing internal crises within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as examples.
Lukman suggested that these challenges were part of a broader strategy to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections.
“It is almost a clear case of destroying the legal basis for any party to qualify to field candidates for 2027 other than the ruling APC,” he said.
Lukman also expressed concern over what he described as a shrinking democratic space, accusing the APC-led government of political maneuvers that he argued should not be happening under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, given his background as a pro-democracy advocate.
“The way the Nigerian democratic space is rapidly shrunken can only be imagined under a military government,” he said.
Despite these obstacles, Lukman reassured Nigerians that the coalition’s leadership remained steadfast in its commitment to defending democracy.
He urged citizens, including members of the judiciary, to resist any attempts to undermine democratic institutions.
“The leaders of the coalition are committed to providing the needed leadership to rescue Nigerian democracy.
“Difficult as the situation would appear, the negotiation about the political party that will be the platform for the 2027 electoral contest is about to be concluded. All the attempt to push Nigeria into a one-party state will be defeated. Once the negotiation about political party is concluded, Nigerians will be formally informed of all the details, and mobilisation towards 2027 will commence,” he stated.
Lukman emphasized that the coalition’s primary goal was not just to field candidates but to ensure that those elected at all levels remained accountable and committed to upholding democratic governance.
He called on all patriotic Nigerians to support the coalition’s efforts in what he described as a necessary struggle to prevent the country from becoming a one-party state.
