The race to unseat the APC in 2027 is turning into a high-stakes chess game inside the opposition, and the G-100 Alliance insists it still holds the winning move.
With Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and Seyi Makinde all refusing to blink, the push for a single opposition presidential candidate has hit turbulence. Yet G-100 insists the deadlock is temporary.
The Big Three Won’t Step Aside
The obstacle is right in the open. Atiku is flying the ADC flag, Obi is leading the NDC, and Makinde is carrying the APM banner. None has shown any sign of withdrawing.
A source close to Atiku said the former Vice-President “remains open to dialogue” but “is going to contest the 2027 election.” His camp argues he was central to building the coalition that birthed ADC and should naturally lead it.
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From Ibadan, the message was even blunter. APM spokesman Abubakar Yusuf said Makinde “is not in the race to take Nigerians for a ride, or for a joke, comedy or fun. He is in the race to win.” He added: “What makes you think Makinde will not be adopted as the consensus candidate?”
Obi’s NDC is playing it smoother. National Publicity Secretary Osa Director said the party is “ready to participate in discussions about a single candidate” because “our candidate is one of the best among all the other aspirants and has a strong chance of emerging as the consensus candidate.”
Behind Closed Doors, The Deal Is Being Forged
Despite the public posturing, G-100 member Ambassador Umanu Elijah says progress is happening away from the cameras.
“We have not adopted a single candidate yet, but that is the goal,” Elijah said. He pointed to the recent Obi-Makinde meeting as proof that consultations are alive, and set a deadline: “before the end of this month, we would have settled on a consensus candidate that we will ask other candidates and parties to support.”
For G-100, September 30 is the line in the sand.
Not Everyone Is Buying In
Not all opposition voices are lining up. AAC’s Omoyele Sowore dismissed the idea outright, asking “united around what?” He said without ideology, economic justice and reforms, a single candidate would just be “another elite political arrangement.”
DLA and ADP also rejected pressure to step down. ADP Chairman Yabbagi Sani asked: “how do you align the interests of multiple individuals and political parties within the shortest possible time?”
YPP’s Peter Agada said he could consider it, but only with a clear development framework that transfers power to the grassroots.
With big names holding firm and smaller parties digging in, G-100’s promise of a consensus candidate now depends on whether consultations can turn rivalry into compromise before the clock runs out.
