Only Party-led Coalition Can Defeat Tinubu In 2027 – Shekarau

Former Kano State Governor and PDP leader, Ibrahim Shekarau, has said that only a coalition driven by political parties not individual ambitions can defeat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.

He called on opposition parties to unite and build a stronger political platform to make this possible.

In a statement released to journalists, he recalled his past efforts, alongside other political leaders, to form a coalition in 2011 aimed at removing then-President Goodluck Jonathan.

His comments came in response to recent talks about some politicians planning to unite under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to challenge the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.

Shekarau clarified that he never claimed defeating the APC was impossible, but emphasised that a successful coalition must be built by established political parties not by individuals pursuing personal ambitions.

“Some people misunderstood my point. To be clear, I did not say the coalition could not defeat Tinubu in 2027. What I said was that a coalition of individuals, rather than parties, could not,” he explained.

To illustrate, Shekarau pointed to the 2011 effort by the now-defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to form a coalition, noting that those talks involved parties with elected governments, lawmakers, and strong grassroots networks.

“I was a principal actor in the 2011 attempted coalition, being a Presidential candidate of the ANPP then. We had several meetings at President Tinubu’s residence in Abuja in 2011.

At a point, (late former President Muhammadu) Buhari, (Nuhu) Ribadu and I, as the Presidential candidates of CPC, ACN and ANPP respectively, met at Buhari’s residence in Abuja to further discuss the coalition in 2011. But it did not work. So, each of us went into the election separately under our respective parties.”

Shekarau said the experience taught valuable lessons to both individuals and parties. This, he noted, led CPC, ACN, and ANPP to try again in 2015.

According to him, the 2015 merger succeeded because party leaders negotiated as representatives of their political parties and not as individual aspirants.

“This time, however, we employed a different approach. We pursued the process, not as individual candidates/aspirants or those who wanted to become this or that, but as representatives of our respective parties.
The three parties each set up a 21-member committee, and I had the privilege of leading the ANPP committee,” he said.

Shekarau revealed that the ACN committee was headed by High Chief Tom Ikimi, while the CPC committee was led by Alhaji Garba Gadi, with all serving and former governors of the three parties included in the teams.