Opposition Parties Consider Four-Year Transition Govt, Single Candidate

Nigeria’s opposition parties have begun discussions on a proposed political arrangement that could produce a Government of National Competence to oversee a four-year national transition, according to a framework presented by the G100.

The proposal was unveiled on Monday at the Summit of Nigeria’s Opposition Political Parties held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.

Representatives of 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) attended the gathering alongside some presidential and vice-presidential candidates and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.

At the commencement of the summit, presidential candidates of the SDP, Adebayo Adewole, and PRP, Donald Duke, as well as APM’s vice-presidential candidate, Lawal Daura, were among those present.

The presidential candidates of the ADC and NDC, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, were yet to arrive at the venue as proceedings commenced.

Presenting the opening remarks on behalf of the G100, its representative, Salihu Lukman, said the proposed arrangement was designed to move opposition cooperation beyond electoral calculations.

He said the proposed Government of National Competence would be based on competence, integrity, inclusiveness and equitable participation by all parties involved.

Lukman said the arrangement would be guided by a four-year National Reset Programme and a binding agreement limiting the administration to a single transition term.

He said, “The Framework before you proposes something more demanding than a merger of ambitions: a Government of National Competence, built on competence, integrity, national inclusion, and fair representation of every party that contributes to the effort.”

He added that the arrangement should be backed by a political commitment to a single four-year term, written into an enforceable Transition Charter.

According to him, the proposed charter must have legal and political consequences for any participant who violates the agreement.

Lukman stated, “We want to underline the word ‘enforceable.’ This gathering does not need more sincerity. Nigerian politics has never suffered from a shortage of sincere promises. What it has suffered from is promises that nobody could enforce when the person who made them changed his/her mind.

“Must be written, it must be witnessed, and it must have consequences.”

Lukman argued that divisions within the opposition had repeatedly weakened its chances of defeating the governing party since the return to democratic rule in 1999.

He recalled that opposition parties went into the 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections separately but changed strategy in 2015, when they agreed on a framework that eventually produced a common platform.

According to him, the lack of similar coordination in 2023 split opposition votes.

He said, “The winner took just under nine million votes. One opposition candidate took close to seven million. Another took just over six million. Thirteen million votes on one side of the argument, under nine million on the other. And the side with fewer votes formed the government, lawfully, constitutionally, and entirely predictably.”

The G100 representative described the 2023 outcome as a consequence of opposition division rather than a deliberate conspiracy against the parties.

Lukman disclosed that the proposed framework would include three major standing committees to coordinate the activities of the participating parties.

He said a Central Leadership Committee would comprise national chairmen, national secretaries, and presidential and vice-presidential candidates from the participating parties.

The committee, he explained, would provide political direction for the coalition process. A Publicity and Communication Committee would coordinate public messaging, while a Legal Committee would provide legal advice and develop strategies relating to the proposed cooperation.

Lukman said the G100 would only serve as facilitators and observers if the parties approved its participation.

He further announced plans to establish five working groups, with each participating political party expected to nominate a representative.

The groups are expected to prepare working documents on a National Covenant for Democratic Renewal, Single-Term Transition Charter, National Reform Programme, Framework for Opposition Unity and a Roadmap towards producing a common presidential candidate.

The documents, he said, would be submitted to a second summit for deliberation and possible adoption. Lukman stressed that the Abuja meeting was not intended to compel any political party to dissolve or merge with another.

He also said the summit was not demanding that any presidential candidate immediately withdraw from the 2027 race.

He further stated, “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… That question is not on the agenda of this Summit, and any report that says otherwise will be wrong.”

According to him, the immediate objective is to establish a negotiating platform before the parties begin discussing how political positions would be shared.

He described the process as building “the table” before negotiating “the seats” around it.

Lukman also cautioned party leaders against taking rigid positions before negotiations begin.

He said previous coalition efforts had suffered because participants either concealed their intentions or became overly focused on who would emerge as the ultimate beneficiary.

Lukman warned, “A hard line declared this morning is a problem that can be solved between now and the Second Summit. A hard line concealed this morning is a coalition that collapses in October, and that one will collapse in public too, only later, and at far greater cost to everybody in this room.”

Lukman said the G100 was not working for any particular political party or presidential aspirant.

He explained that the organisation, in conjunction with the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives, organised the summit because it believes democracy requires a credible alternative to the governing party.

Lukman said, “We are not promoting any candidate, no preference among the six parties in this hall, and nothing to gain from one of you rather than another.

“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.”

Lukman said the proposed opposition cooperation should ultimately be judged by its ability to provide Nigerians with a credible alternative ahead of the 2027 elections.

He referred to the economic difficulties confronting ordinary citizens, including parents struggling with school fees, farmers displaced from their communities and unemployed graduates who had abandoned the search for jobs.

Lukman added, “They are entitled to something, and it is this: a real choice, presented by serious people, capable of governing. That is all a democratic opposition owes its country, and it is not a small debt.”