Former Director-General of the Progressives Governors Forum, Salihu Lukman, says opposition parties could wait until a few days before the 2027 general election before announcing a joint presidential candidate to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Lukman, who convenes the political pressure group G-100, said opposition parties were committed to reaching an agreement and were working to prevent their votes from being divided among several candidates.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Hard Copy programme on Saturday, he expressed confidence that the parties would eventually agree on one candidate despite disagreements and a lack of trust among their leaders.
“I can tell you categorically, and my confidence about that comes from what I see in the leadership of the parties: they are committed and they are working, taking all the steps necessary,” he said.
He added that the announcement could come months, weeks or even days before the election.
“So it could be two months, some weeks to the election, or a few days to the election, they will come out and tell Nigerians this is the direction, and everybody will queue,” Lukman said.
He explained that discussions had moved beyond the six political parties initially involved, with efforts being made to bring more parties into the proposed alliance.
G-100 emerged from efforts to unite opposition parties following an opposition summit in Ibadan in April 2026. Participants at the meeting agreed to work towards presenting a common presidential candidate against the APC.
However, Lukman said political parties and their presidential candidates had since taken over the process, allowing them to negotiate directly and build the trust required to sustain an alliance.
'Opposition parties may name joint candidate days before 2027 election’ - Lukman