Opposition Parties and the Feasibility of a Single Presidential Candidate in 2027

By Okoi Obono-Obla 

Opposition Parties and the Feasibility of a Single Presidential Candidate in 2027

I read in the news that a resolution adopted by three major opposition parties—the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), and New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP)—at an opposition summit held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on 25 April 2026, agreed to field a single presidential candidate against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election. They described this move as a resistance to what they see as the APC’s attempt to “foist a one-party state on Nigeria.”

While the idea of opposition unity is welcome, the reality is whether such a plan is possible within the present constitutional order and electoral system. Before tackling that question, it is important to clarify a common confusion among Nigerians: the difference between a merger of political parties and opposition parties presenting a single presidential candidate or forming a coalition.

The word coalition is a misnomer in the context of Nigeria’s presidential system. Coalition fits into the political vocabulary of a parliamentary system, not a presidential one. Nigeria discarded the parliamentary system adopted at independence in 1960, which lasted until the military coup of 15 January 1966. When the military decided to hand over power in 1979, the Constitution Drafting Committee led by Chief Frederick Rotimi Williams, SAN, recommended presidentialism, which was accepted and inserted into the 1979 Constitution.

Coalitions are usually formed in parliamentary democracies when no party wins a majority of seats in parliament, forcing parties to negotiate and form a coalition government. In a presidential system, however, one candidate must win across the country, and if elected, he or she becomes president.

In 2013, what took place was not a coalition but a merger. Three parties—the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and the Congress for Progressives Change (CPC)—along with two factions from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), merged to form the All Progressives Congress (APC). The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) registered the APC on 31 July 2013.

Now, to the issue of whether the PDP, ADC, and NNPP can field a single presidential candidate. Leaving aside the internal divisions already afflicting the PDP and ADC, the pertinent question is whether, under the present constitutional order and the Electoral Act 2026, it is legally feasible for three or more political parties to jointly sponsor one candidate.

Section 131(c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), provides:
A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the President if he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party.

Given this provision, how can one candidate be sponsored simultaneously by multiple parties? Section 221 of the Constitution further bars any association not registered as a political party from canvassing for votes. Finally, Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2026 lays down the procedure for nomination of candidates by political parties, and it does not contemplate multiple parties nominating a single candidate.

Therefore, the resolution adopted by the opposition parties in Ibadan on 25 April 2026 appears more symbolic than practical. It is largely for optics rather than a legally feasible plan under Nigeria’s current constitutional and electoral framework.

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Conclusion:
Opposition unity may be politically desirable, but under Nigeria’s presidential system and constitutional provisions, only a merger—not a coalition or joint sponsorship—can produce a single candidate. Without such a merger, the Ibadan resolution remains aspirational rather than actionable.