Former Kano State governor and Chairman of the League of Northern Democrats (LND), Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, has dismissed the current formation of a coalition of opposition figures led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
He said that so far as they stand, they lack the required political construction to problem or defeat President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) within the 2027 elections.
Shekarau who made the assertion in a press release on Saturday following the announcement of the formation of a Coalition of Opposition Political Events (CNPP) by Atiku, former Anambra State governor and presidential candidate of the Labour Occasion (LP) within the 2023 elections, Peter Obi and instant previous Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, said categorically that no opposition coalition can unseat Tinubu and the APC in 2027.
Within the assertion, Shekarau, himself a former presidential candidate, mentioned the rising alliance amongst opposition figures within the nation was merely a partnership of people aspiring for president or vice chairman quite than a structured political coalition.
He argued that having distinguished names in an alliance doesn’t robotically translate to a unified political entrance as what is required on such a coalition is a robust political construction which they at present lack.
The previous Kano governor additional famous that the coalition doesn’t have the backing of the management of main opposition events, significantly the PDP and the LP as it’s only pushed by people quite than established political constructions, making it unlikely to pose a critical risk to the APC’s dominance.
“That is only a gathering of sure people with political ambitions; none of them has formally consulted their get together management,” Shekarau mentioned within the assertion.
“The approaching collectively of some senior members of opposition events is a welcome growth, as seen lately underneath what they name a ‘coalition’ of opposition events. However sadly, most individuals don’t notice that this so-called coalition has nothing to do with the most important opposition events; PDP and LP.”
Contrasting the present alliance with the 2013 merger that led to the formation of the APC, which concerned the unification of 4 registered events; the All Nigeria Peoples Occasion (ANPP), the Motion Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the previous Kano governor mentioned:“The primary political merger in Nigeria occurred in 2013 when 4 registered events merged to kind the APC. So, technically, the APC is just not a ‘new get together.’
“It was an alliance of registered opposition political events that had been already well-established, with elected state governors, state and Nationwide Meeting members, and important grassroots help.
“What occurred on the Nationwide Meeting on March 20, 2025, relating to the ‘State of Emergency’ in Rivers State has uncovered the so-called coalition. it’s clear they haven’t any management over opposition lawmakers within the Nationwide Meeting.
“If the coalition leaders had any actual affect, the APC authorities wouldn’t have secured the required votes for the legislation’s passage.
“The 2019 ‘coalition’ was formally launched nearly a 12 months earlier than the elections on the Yar’Adua Middle, but not one of the then-elected PDP leaders was in attendance.
“No quantity of noise-making or casual alliances by particular person politicians within the identify of opposition could have any impression in elections except the total management construction of opposition events in any respect ranges is concerned.
“It’s nonetheless, not too late. I imagine that with the correct imaginative and prescient, mission, and focus, mixed with a real sense of goal, the opposition can change its narrative in 2025 and place itself for achievement within the 2027 elections.”
In conclusion, Shekarau famous that solely registered political events can kind an official merger, making it clear that the current alliance remained an off-the-cuff gathering quite than a legally recognised coalition.
“The coalition of opposition figures is an effective growth, as seen of their current assembly underneath what they name an opposition alliance. Nevertheless, not one of the key figures concerned represents their get together management,” Shekarau added.
