Photo: Senator Dickson
By: Daniel Kanu
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has joined other major opposition political parties in renewed efforts to build a united political front ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The party participated in a high-level opposition summit held on Monday at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, where political parties and stakeholders deliberated on ways to strengthen cooperation and coordinate their activities ahead of the polls.
The NDC delegation was led by its National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, alongside other senior officials of the party.
The summit, convened by the G-100 in collaboration with the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives, attracted representatives of several opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).
The meeting focused on developing a framework for cooperation and coordination among opposition parties, with participants stressing the need to overcome political differences and fragmentation if the opposition is to mount a credible challenge to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.
One of the major proposals discussed was the possibility of working towards a common presidential candidate and a coordinated political strategy for the election.
Organisers also proposed a four-year transition programme as part of the broader framework being considered by the opposition parties.
However, the summit was not attended by some of the leading opposition presidential candidates, including NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi, ADC candidate Atiku Abubakar and APM presidential candidate Seyi Makinde. Their parties were nevertheless represented by senior officials.
The absence of the major presidential contenders highlights the difficult negotiations ahead, particularly over the question of a consensus candidate and how the interests of the various political parties would be accommodated.
The G-100 has maintained that the objective of the initiative is to establish a workable structure for opposition cooperation rather than simply bringing parties together for political discussions.
Convener of the group, Salihu Lukman, has argued that a fragmented opposition would find it difficult to dislodge an incumbent government with significant organisational and financial advantages.
The NDC’s participation in the summit is therefore being seen as another step in the ongoing realignment of opposition forces ahead of 2027, coming amid broader attempts by political parties to forge alliances and consolidate their support bases.
The latest development also comes months after opposition parties at an earlier summit in Ibadan resolved to work towards presenting a united front and, at the time, expressed support for the emergence of a single presidential candidate to challenge the APC in 2027.
With several opposition parties already having produced or backed different presidential contenders, the success of the latest initiative will depend largely on their ability to negotiate their differences, agree on acceptable rules and put collective interests ahead of individual ambitions.
