As Nigeria prepares for its next general elections in 2027, the major leading opposition parties have been struck with internal crises. Even the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which was said to be the coalition adopted party, has three presidential candidates, and one of them is the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar. Only the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu have a cleared presidential candidate for the forthcoming 2027 general elections.
Opposition Parties Face Internal Crises
The 2027 general elections are around the corner, and political parties have started making permutations ahead of the poll. The first step for them is to conduct primaries and produce candidates who will represent their parties in the forthcoming electoral exercise. However, the outcomes of the leading opposition primaries were abysmal, as they had more than one presidential candidate who emerged from different factions ahead of the poll.
Many opposition leaders have accused the ruling APC and President Bola Tinubu-led federal government of plotting to cripple the opposition in the country, saying the presidency was behind the factions being created in the opposition parties. On the other hand, President Tinubu has denied influencing the crisis in the opposition, while reiterating that he was not in a position to help them put their houses in order.
By counting, no fewer than four opposition parties have more than one presidential candidate after the end of their primaries. At the same time, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was yet to decide on the fate of the opposition as it had yet to announce the list of cleared candidates for the elections.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
The PDP is a leading opposition party in Nigeria and had ruled the country from 1999 until 2015, when it was voted out of power. The party currently has two presidential candidates for the 2027 general elections: former President Goodluck Jonathan and Sandy Onor, a former member of the National Assembly. However, the PDP crisis appeared to have been put to bed with INEC publishing the faction that presented Onor as its presidential candidate on its website, but it was not certain that another court case would not soon arise.
African Democratic Congress (ADC)
While the ADC that claimed to be the coalition party was being led by Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president and its presidential candidate in the 2027 elections, he was not the only presidential candidate, as there are two other factions. While Atiku's faction was being led by David Mark, a former Senate president, Dumebi Kachikwu is another candidate. The third candidate is Chris Uba, who is under Nafiu Bala's faction.
Social Democratic Party (SDP)
Adewole Adebayo is another presidential candidate who should be reckoned with in the 2027 elections. He scored 80,267 votes in the 2023 elections under the umbrella of the SDP. He has emerged for the 2027 election. However, unlike the 2023 election, the SDP has another faction, and the factional presidential candidate was Abimbola Akeem Atanda, who was reportedly being led by Shehu Gabam.
Labour Party
The Labour Party became a force with Peter Obi as its presidential candidate in the 2023 election, gathering over six million votes. The party has since been in a leadership crisis and is currently being held by two factions. Chibuzo Okereke and Kennedy Ahanotu are the two current presidential candidates from the factions in the party, while their fate will finally be decided by INEC.
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nyesom Wike, the FCT Minister, knocked the NDC presidential candidate in the 2027 election, Peter Obi, for failing to be a courageous politician. Wike, a two-term governor of Rivers state, in an interview on Monday, June 1, explained that leadership is all about confronting and fixing the existing problem. The minister's outburst was a reaction to Obi's political trajectory from APGA to PDP, Labour Party, ADC and now to the NDC.
