The much-hyped opposition alliance against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu cracked wide open yesterday, and the breaking point was not ambition alone. It was fuel subsidy.
At the Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference, the three arrowheads of the would-be coalition — Atiku Abubakar of the ADC, Peter Obi of the NDC, and Omoyele Sowore of the AAC — sat on the same stage and left with very different answers to one question: what exactly are we fighting for?
The Fault Line: Subsidy Becomes the Battleground
Sowore drew the first red line. He said any alliance that does not reject the Tinubu government’s subsidy removal is a clone, not an alternative.
“If you support removal of fuel subsidy, you are not different from the government in power,” he told a packed hall. “If you support and live a corrupt lifestyle, you are not different from the government in power.”
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For Sowore, the 2027 election will not be won by politicians recycling the old order. “It is the Nigerian people that will defeat the incumbent, not their friends who do not want to change the old order.”
Atiku and Obi: Coalition First, Principles Later?
Representing Atiku, former minister Rotimi Amaechi argued that experience should be the yardstick, not ideology. “Vice President Atiku will be willing to participate. But the difficulty is everybody has a vision. Nobody wants to give up,” he said, urging voters to “assess us by our last performance.”
Obi was softer but just as conditional. “Coalition for what?” he asked. “If the coalition is for good governance, to tackle the issues affecting Nigeria, I agree.” He called for “unity of purpose” and a review of character and competence, but stopped short of rejecting subsidy reform outright.
Sparks Fly as Old Rivals Trade Blows
The room went electric when Sowore turned on Amaechi. “They have no business coming back. You guys should be apologising to the Nigerian people,” he said.
“Stop lying. I said, judge us by our achievements,” Amaechi shot back, before pivoting to electoral math and dismissing Sowore’s chances.
With a planned August 18 meeting of opposition leaders cancelled and a new date set for August 31, the G100 group led by Salihu Lukman now faces a harder task. The coalition has not just split over personalities. It has split over policy. And on subsidy, Atiku, Obi and Sowore are not speaking the same language.
