By Desire Emmanuel
The Seyi Makinde faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the David Mark-led African Democratic Congress (ADC) have agreed to field one presidential candidate in the 2027 general election.
This followed the summit of opposition leaders in the country held on Saturday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, attended by political bigwigs in the country including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Musa Kwankwaso, former Governor Rauf Aregbesola, among others.
The Makinde faction, in a communique issued after the meeting, also warned the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from foisting a one-party rule in the country.
They also passed a vote of no confidence in the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Josh Amupitan, saying he has shown bias and partisanship and hence, he should not be allowed to conduct the 2027 general election.
The communique read: “Participating opposition parties in Nigeria, after an extensive deliberation on the collective threats that we face and the existential challenges facing our country under the stranglehold of the oppressive and anti-democratic All Progressives Congress (APC) and given the need for urgent, collective action to rescue our nation and the destiny of over 200 million compatriots, hereby resolve as follows:
1. That we shall resist all machinations by the APC to foist a one-party State on Nigeria and fight for the survival of multi-party democracy in our country.
2. That despite the onslaughts and manoeuvrings of the ruling party, the APC to impose President Bola Tinubu as the sole Presidential candidate in 2027; we shall field candidates and contest the 2027 Presidential and other elections.
3. That we shall work towards fielding one presidential candidate for the 2027 elections, which shall be agreed and supported by all participating opposition parties to rescue our nation and her long suffering masses.
4. That the INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, having shown bias and partisanship in favour of the ruling APC, should not conduct the 2027 general elections as Nigerians across board have lost confidence in him and his capacity to guarantee the required neutrality to deliver free, fair, transparent and credible elections. His continuous stay in office is vexatious and capable of triggering a widespread crisis in our nation.
5. That the National Assembly should immediately review the Electoral Act, 2026 to remove all sections that threaten the sanctity and integrity of the elections and run counter to constitutional provisions.
6. That all leading politicians that are being detained or harassed on bailable offences be released with immediate effect and allowed to exercise their fundamental rights of participation and inclusivity as Nigerians.
7. That we consider the recent guidelines released by the INEC as obstacles, deliberately engineered to impose conditions and deadlines on the opposition parties. We therefore demand that INEC extends the deadline for primaries till the end of July, 2026.
8. The summit commends Nigerians for their resilience and readiness to work with opposition parties to free our nation from state capture. 9. The national summit of opposition political parties thanks the Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde and the people of Oyo State for hosting the epochal event.”
