Atiku, Obi, Makinde miss opposition unity summit as G100 pushes coalition plan

The presidential candidates of the ADC, Atiku Abubakar; NDC, Peter Obi; and APM’s Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State were absent as leaders of Nigeria’s six main opposition parties gathered at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, on Monday for the first summit aimed at building a cooperation framework ahead of 2027.

As reported by Vanguard, other candidates, including SDP’s Adewole Adebayo and PRP’s Donald Duke, attended alongside party officials and members of the House of Representatives minority caucus.

Speaking on behalf of the G100, Salihu Lukman proposed a “Government of National Competence” anchored on a single four-year transition term, insisting any agreement must be “enforceable” rather than symbolic.

He cited the 2023 election, where opposition candidates split over 13 million votes among themselves while the winner polled under nine million, calling it “self-inflicted.”

With three coalition bodies now proposed to coordinate strategy, the summit signals opposition leaders’ clearest attempt yet to avoid repeating the fragmentation that cost them the last election — but whether the absent heavyweights buy in remains the real test ahead of 2027.