Salihu Lukman, convener of the G100 political pressure group and former National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has said opposition parties working with the group will present a single presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
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Lukman disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s programme, Hard Copy, saying the announcement could come months, weeks or even days before the election.
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He expressed confidence that the parties’ leaders were committed to the process and were taking steps to reach an agreement. He added that discussions had expanded beyond the six parties initially involved, with efforts under way to bring other political parties into the arrangement.
The G100 was established to encourage opposition parties to unite after an opposition summit in Ibadan in April 2026 resolved to pursue a consensus candidate against the ruling APC.
According to Lukman, the political parties and their candidates have since taken over the process from the group and are engaging one another to build the trust required to reach an agreement.
He identified the lack of trust among the parties and their candidates as the biggest challenge facing the initiative.
Lukman said a summit held on August 31 agreed to establish five working groups, including one tasked with selecting a single consensus presidential candidate. Each party is expected to nominate representatives through its leadership or presidential candidate under agreed terms of reference.
He explained that the arrangement was designed to ensure that decisions remained in the hands of the parties and their candidates, rather than external individuals.
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Addressing the positions of supporters of Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar and the Kwankwasiyya movement, Lukman warned that rigidly insisting on individual candidates could undermine the opposition’s efforts.
He argued that the country’s interests should take precedence over personal ambitions, adding that opposition votes divided among several candidates could make it difficult to defeat the ruling party.
Lukman said the G100 had communicated this position to supporters of Obi and Atiku who signed the group’s open letter. He also cited comments by Cardinal John Onaiyekan, who had reportedly warned against splitting opposition votes among multiple candidates.
On differences among party manifestos, including the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate’s proposal for a starting petrol price of ₦300 per litre, Lukman said the aim was not to merge the parties’ manifestos but to develop a minimum programme of action for a future government.
He said all candidates would be expected to commit to the programme before a consensus candidate was selected, ensuring that its priorities would be implemented if that candidate won the election.
Lukman noted that candidates, including Obi and Prince Adewole Adebayo, had already developed their own policy positions that could contribute to the process.
He said the eventual arrangement could involve the ADC, another existing political party or an alliance that might lead to the formation of a new party. He also stated that he had no ambition to contest an election or seek an appointive or elective position.
Warning against candidates refusing to relinquish their ambitions, Lukman said only one person could become President after the 2027 election, making cooperation essential to the opposition’s plan.
He also discussed his earlier withdrawal from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which he attributed to internal disagreements in Kaduna State. He said he had since resumed membership of the party but remained concerned that it could reproduce the same problems associated with established political parties.
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