Former Governor of Kano, Ibrahim Shekarau has said no coalition can unseat President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general election.
Gatekeepers News reports that after a group of opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, jointly criticized the federal government’s handling of the political crisis in Rivers State.
Shekarau in a statement made by Dr. Sule Yau, said the coalition is a gathering of “prospective presidential and vice-presidential aspirants” rather than a structured political merger.
He emphasised that none of the coalition leaders had the backing of their respective party leadership, making their alliance ineffective.
He said, “The coming together of some very senior members of some opposition parties is a very welcome development, as seen recently under what they call ‘coalition’ of opposition parties.”
“None of the principal actors is carrying the leadership of his party along. More so, the ‘gang-up’ of individuals, no matter their ‘big names’, can never be a ‘merger’ because, by law, only registered parties can formally and officially merge.”
Shekarau said the National Assembly’s affirmation of President Tinubu’s State of Emergency shows that the opposition coalition had little influence on them.
He added, “Accordingly, no amount of noise making, or coming together, by individual characters (aspirants) in the name of opposition will make any impact at elections, until and unless the full structure of leadership at all levels of the opposition parties are carried along.”
