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A political affairs analyst, Dr Ambrose Igboke has called on opposition leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, to unite ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said a common candidate could give the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) a serious challenge.
Speaking while reacting to reports of ongoing discussions among opposition presidential hopefuls, Igboke said the fragmentation of opposition votes remained one of the major advantages enjoyed by the ruling party in previous elections.
There have been reports of possible consensus arrangement involving Atiku, who is the Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC and Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), and other opposition figures.
But, Igboke believes achieving such an agreement may prove difficult because of the strong national followership enjoyed by some of the leading contenders.
He, however, identified former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke as one of the figures who could more easily make concessions in a consensus arrangement because, in his assessment, Duke does not command the same level of nationwide political support as Atiku and Obi.
He said the coming together of major opposition figures would consolidate their political strength and prevent the splitting of votes that occurred during the last general election.
The analyst noted that while Obi contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party and Atiku represented the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the emergence of new alliances among opposition groups could alter the political equation ahead of 2027.
He said: “I wish that other opposition parties can also come together to present one candidate. That will really give APC a run for its money.”
He argued that the combined votes of the opposition could potentially surpass those of the ruling party if the opposition parties were able to avoid fielding separate candidates.
“As it stands now, the NDC and ADC are still sticking to their guns. If it continues this way, the ruling party and President Bola Tinubu will win even with the slightest margin. In 2023 elections, the cumulative votes of Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar were higher than those of Tinubu.
Atiku should support Peter Obi as a consensus candidate. Only then will it be possible for the opposition to win this election,” he said.
The analyst also criticised the alleged appropriation of government-owned premises within the presidential complex by the ruling party for partisan activities.
He argued that the facility was public property and should not be treated as the private space of whichever political party was in power.
He said the premises did not belong to either the APC or the PDP when the latter was in government, stressing that the ruling party should not automatically assume ownership of the facility.
According to him, the fact that the facility is located within the Aso Villa residential area may have contributed to the perception that it is exclusively controlled by the Presidency.
He maintained that if political parties were permitted to use the facility for commercial or partisan purposes, such access should be made available to other political parties under clearly defined conditions.
The analyst further argued that security concerns could not be used as an excuse to deny opposition parties access, noting that security agencies could screen participants from any political organisation seeking to use the premises.
Commenting on the reported 30-day discount on petrol purchases at NNPC filling stations, the analyst described the measure as another short-term palliative rather than a sustainable solution to the country’s fuel crisis.
He argued that the Federal Government should focus on restoring Nigeria’s refineries to full production capacity and ensuring that petroleum products consumed domestically are refined locally.
According to him, repeated palliatives would not resolve the structural problems affecting the downstream petroleum sector.
“The long-term solution is to make refineries work in Nigeria. Rehabilitate the refineries or set them up for productivity, refine the product locally that we use locally,” he said.
He also expressed concern over possible future increases in fuel prices and discussions surrounding additional fuel-related taxation, warning that Nigerians could face further hardship if the government continued to rely on temporary interventions.
The analyst said the government should adopt policies capable of providing lasting relief to citizens rather than measures designed mainly to calm public anger in the short term.
He maintained that the country needed sustainable economic reforms and functioning domestic refining capacity to address the recurring challenges in the petroleum sector.
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