The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, said yesterday that opposition presidential candidates are not divided and are ready to work together with whoever is chosen by Nigerians.
Obi spoke on Monday in Abuja during the commissioning of the presidential campaign office of Seyi Makinde, presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and his running mate, Lawal Daura.
Also speaking, Daura called on opposition leaders to come together and provide a qualitative opposition, saying such an opposition would be beneficial to Nigerians.
Obi’s presence at the event has sparked fresh debate over the possibility of opposition presidential candidates working together ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The development followed a summit organised by the G-100, which has been advocating a coalition of opposition parties to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki were also present at the commissioning. The delegation was led by former Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu and other party stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Obi said the opposition was not desperate but focused on ensuring that Nigerians freely choose who governs them.
He said he would support whoever emerged through a free, fair and credible process.
“For us, we don’t have desperation. We want the people of Nigeria to make their choice. Whoever they choose, all of us will come together to build a new Nigeria.
“We can’t all continue the way we are going today. Our people are hungry. Our people are poor. Our people are insecure. Whoever wins, genuinely, from a free, fair and credible election, we all want to work together to save this country from collapse.”
Obi said the opposition was redefining politics by moving away from quarrels and disagreements to issues that directly affect Nigerians.
“We don’t want politics of quarrel, politics of disagreement. Let our quarrel be to feed our people. Let our quarrel be to pull our people out of poverty.
“We want a Nigeria where a child of nobody can be somebody without knowing anybody, that’s what we want. And we think all of us will work as a family.
“I assure you that we remain united in our rescue for our dear country, Nigeria.”
Subsidy debate: Makinde proposes cheaper option
Earlier, Makinde said those who were not taking his presidential ambition seriously would hear from Nigerians in 2027.
Speaking on the ongoing fuel subsidy debate between the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, and the Federal Government, Makinde said he had already explained his position on petrol pricing.
He said some people had asked whether he was advocating a return of fuel subsidy, but stressed that he had his own blueprint for addressing the issue.
“Let me explain my position very simply with this example. If a community grows food, the people of that community should not have to buy that food as though it travelled halfway around the world before reaching them.
“So why should crude oil supplied to Nigerian refineries be priced as though Nigeria does not produce crude oil? Nigeria’s oil must provide a real and measurable benefit to Nigerians.
“That benefit should be built into the system from the beginning, through the price at which crude oil is supplied for domestic refining—not through an opaque intervention at the petrol pump after all the costs, inefficiencies and distortions have been added.”
He said Nigerians should know what they were paying for, who received what and where inefficiencies were increasing the final price.
According to him, that was what his “Reset Nigeria” agenda was about.
On the 2027 election, Makinde said the opening of the campaign office had created another opportunity for Nigerians to join the conversation about the future of the country.
Speaking about his chances, he said he was aware that some people had already dismissed his campaign.
“I have been here before.
When I first asked the people of Oyo State to entrust me with the responsibility of serving them, many people said I did not stand a chance. They looked at the established political forces, looked at me, and concluded that I could not win. But the people of Oyo State had other ideas.
“So, when they say today that this campaign does not count, I do not take it personally. What they are really saying is that the hopes of millions of Nigerians do not count.
“But we count. Our voices count. Our experiences count. Our ideas count. And, together, our votes will count.”
Makinde urged Nigerians to test his ideas, contribute their own ideas and organise within their communities as “Resetters” in line with his agenda.
‘Opposition must distinguish eligibility from electability’
Also speaking, APM’s Vice Presidential candidate Lawal Daura said opposition parties must be able to distinguish between eligibility and electability ahead of the 2027 elections.
“There are candidates that may be eligible, but they are not electable. I want Nigerians to be able to distinguish that. We are not taking Nigerians for a joke. We are here for serious business and that serious business is supposed to benefit the entire Nigerian population.”
He urged opposition parties to work together, saying such collaboration should not be seen as an opportunity for any individual or party to outsmart others.
“We are all together. We want to provide a very qualitative opposition. And that qualitative opposition is supposed to be beneficial to all Nigerians.”
Disregard us at your own peril — Bauchi gov
The National Leader of the APM and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, said Makinde had used scarce resources to develop Oyo State, adding that he had the capacity to replicate the feat at the national level.
He warned those who did not take the APM seriously that they were doing so at their own peril.
“The beauty of having a good party is to have a good leader. The Chairman of the party is an erudite young person who is also leading all the political parties in Nigeria as the chairman of IPAC.
“This office is solely provided by the presidential candidate to show you that we mean business. Whoever disregards us is doing it at his own peril.”
Mohammed described Makinde as a mobiliser and manager of resources, saying the governor had achieved significant development in Oyo State despite limited resources.
He said the APM was the least troubled political party in Nigeria, attributing this to loyalty, party supremacy and harmony among its members.
Mohammed, who is also contesting for the Senate on the platform of the APM, said the party was committed to providing a new lease of life to leadership through planning, accountability and prudent deployment of resources.
‘We are on a rescue mission’ — Dantalle
The National Chairman of the APM, Dr Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, said the party was on a rescue mission, adding that the commissioning of the Makinde/Daura presidential campaign headquarters marked the beginning of its journey to “reset Nigeria”.
He said the APM offered Nigerians a viable political alternative anchored on integrity, sacrifice and service.
According to him, the new campaign headquarters was not only the APM National Campaign Office but also the “engine room” of the party’s campaign ahead of the 2027 elections.
Dantalle promised that the party’s campaign across the country would be issue-based and focused on solutions, competence and the future of Nigeria.
He said Nigerians were tired of politics of bitterness, division and hatred, adding that the country needed a strong, stable, united, prosperous, inclusive and just democratic society.
Also, in his good will message, Babangida Aliyu called for greater cooperation among opposition leaders ahead of the elections, adding that Nigeria needs to be reset and put on the path of progress.
He said insecurity had claimed lives and displaced many Nigerians, stressing that development, education and agriculture could not thrive without security.
Aliyu, the National Secretary of the PDP BoT said, “We had the first opposition meeting in Ibadan. Now, we have had the second meeting in Abuja. There is a need for cooperation among all the opposition leaders and candidates.”