POLITICS
G100 Consolidates Coalition Talks Ahead of 2027
G100 Consolidates Coalition Talks Ahead of 2027
November 1, () – Convener of the G100 political pressure group, Salihu Lukman, is not giving up on his quest to unite leaders of opposition political parties toward securing victory against the incumbent President Bola Tinubu, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), at the poll in 2027.
United the opposition parties stand, he strongly believes, victory is assured. Separately, they may fall, he continues to maintain as he plans another, final conference in a week. According to the former APC Vice Chairman, North West geo-political zone coalition leaders are expected to conclude and adopt the documents before holding a second summit on Monday, November 9, 2026, where participating parties would publicly endorse and unveil the papers. The documents, he disclosed, are three: the National Covenant for Democratic Renewal, which outlines the coalition’s principles; the Framework for Opposition Unity, which explains how the coalition intends to operate; and the National Reform Programme, which outlines the policies and priorities of a government emerging from the alliance.
Even so, Lukman admitted in a television programme that the coalition was facing some of the major challenges that are preventing opposition political parties from achieving the organisation’s aim to present a single presidential candidate to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general election. In a recent MEDIA TODAY’s Hard Copy, Lukman, however, expressed confidence that ongoing consultations among opposition parties would produce an agreement on a common candidate. He disclosed that the parties had made progress beyond the expectations of the G100 group. “Well, first, let me remind you that when we came together as G100, our objective was to engage the political parties and their candidates and get them to recognise the challenge. So far, the indicators are there. We have succeeded beyond some of our expectations, and I am sure the leadership of the parties will begin to make public statements themselves to indicate the direction they are going.”
One major indication of the progress being made by the G100 is in the area of getting the parties to begin to discuss the issues at state, the process of negotiations and engagement with one another to build the confidence and trust required to agree on a consensus candidate. For him, the lack of trust among opposition parties and their presidential candidates has been one of the major obstacles to the proposed alliance. According to him, the G100 believes that the quality of relationships among the parties and their candidates will determine whether they can agree to make the necessary sacrifices for a common political objective.
Lukman expressed confidence that the opposition leaders would eventually reach an agreement, arguing that allowing their candidates to contest separately could weaken their chances of defeating the APC.
“There is no way candidates will split; opposition candidates will split people five ways and expect one of them to win against a ruling party. They are just basically handing over victory to the ruling party,” Lukman said, recounting Onaiyekan’s argument. The G100 convener said the opposition parties had agreed to establish a working group to develop recommendations on how to select a consensus presidential candidate. He said the decision formed part of the resolutions reached at an opposition summit held on August 31, 2026. According to him, the summit agreed to establish five working groups, including one specifically tasked with developing a framework for selecting the single candidate.
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To build on previous meetings of the G100, Lukman said that the opposition political parties and their presidential candidates would nominate representatives to the working group, which would operate within an agreed framework and timeframe. He said the group would make recommendations and propose options to guide negotiations among the parties. Citing the position of Catholic cleric, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, whom he said had similarly advised opposition candidates to sink their differences and work together for the polls, warning that their separateness could undermine their chances by splitting the votes among themselves, Lukman led his group on a visit to the Cardinal. During the visit which took place on Thursday, October 29, 2026, Cardinal John Onaiyekan appealed to the opposition parties under the G-100 Coalition to unite ahead of the 2027 general election, saying that a strong opposition is needed to sustain Nigeria’s democratic traditions. According to Lukman, who said, the delegation, comprising national chairmen and national secretaries of some political parties, briefed the cardinal on efforts to present a united opposition front and provide Nigerians with a credible alternative in the next general election. He said the coalition informed the cardinal that it had concluded work on three major working papers and their host expressed support for the opposition parties’ efforts to unite, noting that such cooperation was necessary to strengthen democracy.
Cardinal Onaiyekan welcomed the prospect of Nigerians having “real and credible choices” in the 2027 election, allowing citizens to determine their future and choose their leaders. The cardinal also emphasised the importance of “competent, honest and sympathetic leaders” in addressing challenges making decent living conditions difficult for many Nigerians.
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Lukman said the delegation briefed the cardinal on the coalition’s progress in attracting additional political parties and developing mechanisms to address potential disagreements among members, in addition to expressing their commitment to give Nigerians “greater faith and capacities in solving our problems with new leadership, new vision and new focus on rebuilding citizens’ welfare, security and trust in leadership.” The leaders appreciated Onaiyekan’s commitment to justice and compassion and requested his continued prayers for the coalition’s success. Moreover, Lukman added that coalition leaders would visit other distinguished Nigerians and diplomatic missions in the coming weeks to strengthen support for the alliance. The coalition includes major opposition presidential aspirants, such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Governor Peter Obi and Governor Seyi Makinde.
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