Nigeria’s opposition political parties have begun discussions on a proposed alliance that could produce a Government of National Competence to oversee a four-year national transition, as part of efforts to build a common platform ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The proposal was unveiled on Monday at the Summit of Nigeria’s Opposition Political Parties, held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.
The summit brought together representatives of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP), alongside some presidential and vice-presidential candidates and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
Among those present at the opening of the summit were the SDP presidential candidate, Adebayo Adewole; PRP presidential candidate, Donald Duke; and APM vice-presidential candidate, Lawal Daura.
The presidential candidates of the ADC and NDC, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, were yet to arrive as proceedings commenced.
Presenting the opening remarks on behalf of the G100, Salihu Lukman said the proposed arrangement was intended to move opposition cooperation beyond electoral calculations and create a credible alternative to the governing party.
He said the proposed Government of National Competence would be founded on competence, integrity, inclusiveness and equitable participation among the parties involved.
According to him, the arrangement would operate under a four-year National Reset Programme and a binding agreement restricting the proposed administration to a single transition term.
“The Framework before you proposes something more demanding than a merger of ambitions: a Government of National Competence, built on competence, integrity, national inclusion, and fair representation of every party that contributes to the effort.”
Lukman said the proposed single four-year term should be backed by an enforceable Transition Charter with both legal and political consequences for any participant who violates the agreement.
“We want to underline the word ‘enforceable.’ This gathering does not need more sincerity. Nigerian politics has never suffered from a shortage of sincere promises. What it has suffered from is promises that nobody could enforce when the person who made them changed his/her mind,” he said.
“Must be written, it must be witnessed, and it must have consequences.”
He argued that the inability of opposition parties to coordinate effectively had repeatedly weakened their chances of defeating the governing party since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
Lukman recalled that opposition parties contested the 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections separately before changing strategy in 2015, when several parties worked together on a common platform.
He said the absence of similar coordination in 2023 resulted in the division of opposition votes.
“The winner took just under nine million votes. One opposition candidate took close to seven million. Another took just over six million. Thirteen million votes on one side of the argument, under nine million on the other. And the side with fewer votes formed the government, lawfully, constitutionally, and entirely predictably,” he said.
Lukman described the 2023 outcome as a product of opposition division rather than a deliberate conspiracy against the parties.
Committees to coordinate opposition cooperation
The G100 representative disclosed that the proposed framework would establish three major standing committees to coordinate the activities of the participating parties.
The Central Leadership Committee, he said, would comprise the national chairmen, national secretaries, presidential candidates and vice-presidential candidates of the participating parties and would provide political direction for the coalition process.
A Publicity and Communication Committee would coordinate public messaging, while a Legal Committee would provide legal advice and develop strategies for the proposed cooperation.
Lukman said the G100 would only act as facilitators and observers if the parties approved its participation.
He also announced plans to establish five working groups, with each participating party expected to nominate a representative.
The groups would prepare working documents covering a National Covenant for Democratic Renewal, Single-Term Transition Charter, National Reform Programme, Framework for Opposition Unity and a Roadmap towards producing a common presidential candidate.
The documents would subsequently be presented at a second summit for deliberation and possible adoption.
Lukman stressed that Monday’s summit was not intended to compel any party to dissolve or merge with another.
He also clarified that the meeting was not asking any presidential candidate to immediately withdraw from the 2027 presidential race.
“It is not asking any party to dissolve. It is not asking any party to disappear into another party. It is not asking any candidate to stand down this morning… That question is not on the agenda of this Summit, and any report that says otherwise will be wrong,” he said.
He explained that the immediate objective was to establish a negotiating platform before discussions begin on how political positions would eventually be shared.
According to him, the process was about building “the table” before negotiating “the seats” around it.
G100 warns against rigid positions
Lukman also cautioned opposition leaders against taking rigid positions before negotiations begin.
He said previous coalition efforts had failed partly because participants either concealed their intentions or became too focused on determining who would ultimately benefit from the arrangement.
“A hard line declared this morning is a problem that can be solved between now and the Second Summit. A hard line concealed this morning is a coalition that collapses in October, and that one will collapse in public too, only later, and at far greater cost to everybody in this room,” he warned.
Lukman maintained that the G100 was not working for any political party or presidential aspirant.
He said the organisation, in collaboration with the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives, organised the summit because it believes democracy requires a credible alternative to the governing party.
“We are not promoting any candidate, no preference among the six parties in this hall, and nothing to gain from one of you rather than another,” he said.
“Our only interest is the one stated in the Doctrine we published on August 2: that a democracy is sustained not merely by holding elections, but by the credible possibility of an alternative government.”
He said the success of the proposed opposition cooperation would ultimately be measured by its ability to give Nigerians a credible alternative ahead of the 2027 elections.
Lukman pointed to the economic difficulties confronting ordinary Nigerians, including parents struggling with school fees, farmers displaced from their communities and unemployed graduates who had abandoned their search for jobs.
“They are entitled to something, and it is this: a real choice, presented by serious people, capable of governing. That is all a democratic opposition owes its country, and it is not a small debt,” he said.