The presidential candidates of the Accord Party, African Action Congress and Social Democratic Party have agreed to work together towards a common democratic platform ahead of the 2027 presidential election, signalling a potential realignment of Nigeria’s opposition politics.
The candidates — Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim of Accord, Omoyele Sowore of the AAC and Prince Adewole Adebayo of the SDP — reached the agreement after a meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, at the weekend.
The meeting focused on the state of Nigeria’s democracy, economy and security, with the opposition leaders expressing concern over what they described as the concentration of political power, weakening democratic institutions and shrinking space for genuine political competition.
They warned that Nigeria risked moving from a competitive multi-party democracy to what they described as “a coronation disguised as an election.”
The leaders subsequently resolved to align their political forces towards presenting Nigerians with a joint democratic alternative in 2027.
The proposed alliance is expected to mobilise workers, youths, women, professionals, entrepreneurs, civil society organisations and Nigerians across ethnic, religious, regional and political divides.
While stating that the structure, modalities and choice of presidential candidate for the proposed alliance would be determined later, the three candidates said:
“The larger national interest must take precedence over individual political ambitions.”
Demand Release of Political Detainees
The opposition leaders also demanded an immediate review of cases involving Nigerians detained or imprisoned over political expression, self-determination advocacy or the peaceful exercise of constitutionally protected rights.
They specifically called for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, whose agitation has centred on the political rights and aspirations of the Igbo people, and Bichia Maisango, whom they identified as an advocate of Hausa Zallah cultural rights.
The candidates also called for an end to what they described as the legal and political persecution of Sowore over his political activities.
The leaders, however, stressed that their position did not amount to an endorsement of the methods or views of the individuals concerned.
“Democratic societies must accommodate dissent and peaceful disagreement,” they said.
They further urged the international community, democratic governments, regional institutions and international democracy and human-rights organisations to closely monitor Nigeria’s democratic trajectory.
The candidates expressed concern over alleged attempts by individuals within the security architecture, electoral institutions, judiciary, legislature and executive to weaken opposition parties, manipulate public institutions and frustrate genuine political competition.
While rejecting foreign interference in Nigeria’s sovereign affairs, they called for accountability where public office holders or institutional authorities abuse their positions to undermine constitutional democracy.
They also urged international partners to document credible evidence of democratic reversals and consider targeted sanctions, including visa restrictions and other lawful measures, against individuals found to have participated in such activities.
“Nigeria’s multi-party democracy must be preserved. No individual, political party, security agency, electoral official or institution is bigger than the Nigerian Constitution,” they declared.
Candidates Attack Economic Policies
The opposition leaders also criticised the economic policies of the President Bola Tinubu administration, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and currency devaluation.
According to them, the policies have contributed to rising living costs, declining purchasing power, unemployment and widespread economic hardship.
They called for urgent economic reforms, including substantial salary reviews towards a genuine living wage, stronger domestic production, investment promotion, job creation and measures to reduce inflation.
On insecurity, the candidates demanded a proactive national security strategy anchored on intelligence, technology, adequately equipped security forces, community cooperation, economic opportunities and effective prosecution.
They rejected what they described as appeasement, selective enforcement and political complicity that enabled violent groups to operate with impunity.
The three candidates pledged to defend Nigeria’s multi-party system and resist political monopolisation.
“A democracy without meaningful opposition is merely an electoral ritual,” they said, reaffirming their commitment to the constitutional rights of Nigerians to form political parties, contest elections, disagree with government and offer alternative programmes without intimidation.
They also said national unity must be founded on justice and inclusion.
“Unity cannot be built by suppressing differences; it must be built by guaranteeing justice within diversity,” the leaders said.
According to them, the proposed alliance was not merely an anti-incumbency arrangement but an attempt to develop a credible governing alternative based on democratic accountability, economic justice, security, institutional reform, social inclusion and national development.
Movement for Democratic Renewal Launched
Meanwhile, the Movement for Democratic Renewal, MDR, for the South-South and South-East zones was launched on Saturday in Port Harcourt, with speakers calling for a united effort to rescue Nigeria’s democracy and restore hope to citizens.
The movement is co-chaired by Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim and the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero.
NLC leaders and industrial union representatives gathered at the NLC Labour House in Port Harcourt to deliberate on what they described as a fundamental national question: “How do we rescue Nigeria’s democracy and restore hope to millions of our people?”
Speaking at the event, Hashim said Nigeria had the potential to be a great country but alleged that successive leaders had failed to harness its resources for the benefit of the people.
According to him, “The prosperity in Nigeria continued until 1976 and Nigeria was a lender, not a borrowing nation.”
He added: “Today, industrialisation has gone out of Nigeria. But we must rescue our democracy. Any democracy that abandons the welfare of the workers is a mirage.”
Also speaking, SDP presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, urged Nigerians to reject intimidation and political pressure ahead of future elections.
“All workers must vote, because our problem is that our leaders today see themselves as colonial masters in black skin,” he said.
Adebayo stressed the importance of ideological unity, saying, “Unity is important. For people, we can only be united by ideology. You must raise cadres not for protest alone, but for government.”
The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, who was represented at the event by Denja Yakub, said Nigerians could not depend on outsiders to solve the country’s challenges.
“Nobody will fight for us. We need to fight for ourselves. There will never be industry for us if we don’t have worker-friendly people in power,” he said.
NLC chairmen from Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, Edo, Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi states attended the event.
