Arise Politics Editor and Director of News, Sumner Sambo, has said a united opposition could form a formidable challenge to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 presidential election, warning that fragmented opposition parties could still significantly affect the ruling party’s vote share.
He said this while reacting to the appearance of the NDC’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, at the APM’s presidential official campaign launch, for its candidate, Seyi Makinde, on Monday, where Obi pledged solidarity with the opposition movement ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The event, held under the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), saw Obi pledge solidarity with Makinde despite their candidacies in the 2027 presidential election, in a development that has heightened speculation about possible opposition coalition talks.
“Just imagine all these people coming together. This will be a formidable front against the All Progressives Congress.”
Lamenting the PDP’s fragmentation, Sambo said the party, which governed Nigeria for 16 years, has now been split into different political camps, weakening its ability to mount a formidable challenge to the APC in 2027.
“The generic party here is the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which has now been divided into three arms. One is in the African Democratic Congress with Atiku Abubakar, the other one is in the Nigeria Democratic Congress with Peter Obi, and now we have the other one, Allied People’s Movement, with Seyi Makinde.
“So, this could have been an election that the PDP will stand formidably as Nigeria’s former governing party to actually challenge the APC, which is the successor to it in terms of governing Nigeria. But unfortunately, PDP is nowhere. INEC has been, you know, dealing with them. So, PDP has now been divided into four political parties. What a great fall for Nigeria’s governing party that led this country for 16 good years.”
On the optics of the opposition gathering, Sambo said the show of unity sends a positive signal, but warned that unresolved divisions could still frustrate efforts to forge a common front against the APC.
“Whatever may have happened, whether by their own doing or by allowing external interference, I can tell you that the optics look good that, in quotes, we are seeing political parties here and there, leaders trying to come together.”
Sambo, however, said lingering political differences and competing interests remain major obstacles to the opposition parties coming together, despite the growing calls for a united front ahead of 2027.
“But there’s still that feeling within these PDP people to actually come together. But unfortunately, the elements that will allow them to unite together is not allowing them to come together.
“And whatever it is, you may actually have to commend the APC for doing whatever it has done in that political camp, making sure that the PDP doesn’t unite.”
Sambo warned that smaller opposition parties could eat into President Bola Tinubu’s votes across the states, potentially denying the APC the constitutional threshold needed for an outright victory and forcing a runoff.
“If the APC is not careful, these little, little parties, regional parties, if you may like to call them, or national parties, but that are not so strong like the APC, they may eat into the votes of President Tinubu going into the election, and it will hurt the APC. And if the APC doesn’t get 24 out of the 36 states as is constitutionally required—25% of 24 states—then it could be a problem.
“And my mind keeps telling me that all these political parties are working towards eating into the votes of the APC, to drive them into a runoff. And APC has to be careful.”
Looking ahead to the final stretch of the 2027 race, Sambo said the opposition could make a significant impact by coordinating their support at the last minute, urging supporters to back a common candidate and potentially hurting the APC’s chances.
He, however, warned that the ruling party is also building alliances and should not be underestimated.
“If you are politically savvy, you’ll listen to what Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso said. They may not be stepping down, but at the last minute—it’s like the last Friday before election day, I mean, for our Muslim brothers, or the last Sunday before election day—what the Imams will say on that Friday, what the pastors will tell their congregation on that day will largely influence how they behave on election day.
“Now, at that last minute, they may agree to actually urge their supporters to vote a certain way. And that could actually hurt the APC.”
“But then, the APC is not also sleeping, because the APC is also building its own coalition. That’s why it’s building its own coalition with people like Nyesom Wike. And you can see that he’s actually bringing a chunk. And the APC is also building some alliances with some other political parties.”
Highlighting Peter Obi’s appearance at the campaign event, Sambo described it as a symbolic gesture of unity, saying such displays of political acceptance could help raise the quality of Nigeria’s democracy.
“I was so much elated, because I was there myself, I saw Peter Obi entering there. I was happy, promotion of unity, and then this will help… it’s very good for our quality, and then to actually accept them, too.”
Calling for a shift from personal attacks to issue-based politics, Sambo urged presidential candidates to accept the outcome of a free and fair election and work together to build a better Nigeria.
“If they agree that whoever wins the election, but wins it genuinely and fairly, that they will all come together and accept it. We should be listening to from our presidential candidates. So the game is on.
“Let Nigerians listen to all of them, and then it should be issue-based. We should not allow, you know, this usual personal attacks and rhetoric and all that.”
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