Donald Duke Speaks On Stepping Down For Presidential Candidate Endorsed By Opposition Parties

Former Cross River State Governor and presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has promised to throw his weight behind any opposition candidate that emerges from ongoing efforts to forge a united platform ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Naija News reports that Duke made the pledge on Monday in Abuja during the G100 Summit of Nigeria’s Opposition Political Parties, where leaders and representatives of major opposition parties gathered to discuss a possible alliance against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The PRP candidate said his personal political ambition would not stand in the way of efforts to unite the opposition, adding that he would remain part of the process irrespective of the candidate eventually chosen.

Duke said, “We will support any political party that emerges in 2027. Whatever decision is arrived at today, I will not walk away but will strive all along because that’s what the people want to see.”

The meeting, organised by the G100 in collaboration with the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives, attracted participants from six opposition parties.

Those represented included the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Speaking on the need for cooperation, a representative of the G100, Salihu Lukman, argued that the opposition had already experienced the consequences of going into a presidential election divided.

Lukman recalled that opposition candidates collectively polled roughly 13 million votes in the 2023 presidential election, but failed to convert the figure into victory because the votes were shared among different candidates.

He said the outcome was not the result of anyone stealing the opposition’s votes but was largely caused by the inability of the parties to reach an agreement.

Lukman stated, “Nobody stole thirteen million votes. We divided them ourselves, in public, and we did it knowing exactly what the consequence would be.”

He urged the parties to draw lessons from the arrangement that produced the opposition alliance ahead of the 2015 election.

According to him, the parties involved in that alliance did not necessarily have identical interests but succeeded because they first established the rules governing their cooperation before deciding who would benefit from the arrangement.

Lukman further stated, “What they had was not affection. What they had was sequence. They agreed on the rules before they knew the outcome.

“What has been missing is not analysis. It is a table.

“It is not asking any party to dissolve. It is not asking any party to disappear into another party. It is not asking any candidate to stand down this morning.”

Instead, he said the parties were being asked to endorse a process through which they could discuss their interests and develop a mutually acceptable political arrangement.

Under the proposed framework, the coalition would have a Central Leadership Committee made up of senior party officials and presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

Other proposed structures are a Publicity and Communication Committee, which would coordinate the coalition’s public messaging, and a Legal Committee responsible for legal matters arising from the alliance.

Lukman further disclosed that five working groups would be established, with each participating party expected to nominate a representative.

The groups would work on proposals covering democratic renewal, a single-term transition, a national reform agenda, opposition unity and the selection of a common presidential candidate.

The documents are expected to be completed within four weeks and submitted to a second summit for consideration and possible adoption.

The G100 has also proposed that any resulting administration should operate under a “Government of National Competence” and implement a four-year National Reset Programme.

The proposed arrangement would be backed by an enforceable Transition Charter designed to ensure that parties and individuals remain bound by whatever agreements they eventually reach.

Lukman cautioned the politicians against entering the negotiations with fixed positions, saying the coalition could only succeed if participants were prepared to make concessions.

He argued that genuine unity would inevitably require some individuals to accept decisions that might not serve their personal political ambitions.

“There is no version of this that costs nobody anything. Someone in this hall will have to accept an outcome he/she did not want. That is what unity is. It is not a communiqué. It is somebody’s disappointment, borne well,” he said.

He said the G100 was not promoting any particular presidential aspirant, insisting that its interest was limited to creating a credible alternative for Nigerians in 2027.

Lukman added, “Our only interest is the one stated in the Doctrine we published on August 2: that a democracy is sustained not merely by holding elections, but by the credible possibility of an alternative government.

“Today, that possibility is in this room. It is in nobody else’s hands.”