Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigerian President is playing a major role in tinkering opposition politicians in Nigeria into one platform, leading to their decision on Saturday to produce a common candidate to square up against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

The former President is said to be the rallying point for the massive initiative, believed to have foreign components, including supports coming from as far as the United States and the United Kingdom, where Nigerians with influence are persuading authorities to help dislodge Tinubu and members of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

The initiative is coming as lobbyists are intensifying efforts to press it on London and Washington about the need for a regime change in Nigerian, a project said to be getting traction, based on manifest anti-democratic credentials already manifesting within the government in Nigeria.

A current video circulating in recent days, showed one of the efforts being championed by Mike Arnold, former Republican Mayor of Blanco, Texas, and founder of Africa Arise International, a nonprofit focused on humanitarian work and missionary efforts in Nigeria.

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The former mayor was seen in the video, not only pushing authorities in Washington to act fast to change the APC government of Tinubu, which he accused of doing little to prevent the massive killings in Nigeria, by ensuring a free and fair election in 2027.

An insider privy to the move, told WhirlwindNews: “What you saw today, is a foretaste of what is coming. You know these politicians are coming from every angle. Baba, is making sure that politicians get it right. That is why he is throwing his weight behind the initiative. He is doing everything to ensure that what Tinubu is planning for Nigeria doesn’t succeed.

“How can Nigeria descend into a one-party state where nobody will act outside the confines of the Tinubu influence. Is that not autocracy. That is what Obasanjo is trying to prevent. Such a thing is not going to happen under his watch, it is not going to happen before his nose. That is what he wants to prevent even if it is the last thing he does while alive.

He also spoke of the foreign arrangement, confirming the push to secure help from outside Nigeria, saying: “These people have captured all institutions in Nigeria – INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission), the security agencies and the judiciary – so, what is left, is the determination of Nigerians not to allow it.

“You know what will result if Tinubu manages to capture Nigeria in the manner it is going. It is not going to stop there. Where we are headed is to make Nigeria like Cameroun under Paul Biya, Uganda under Yoweri Museveni and the likes. Of course these countries are watching known that what is at stake is democracy and the consequences will be great if Nigerian democracy fails.

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Political leaders at a National Summit of Opposition Political Leaders held on Saturday in Ibadan, Oyo State, after weighing in on the current challenges facing the country, warned that democracy in the country was under increasing strain and required urgent collective action to safeguard it.

The summit, themed: Safeguarding Nigeria’s Democracy: A National Dialogue” brought together key opposition figures across party lines, culminating in the adoption of a joint communiqué known as the Ibadan Declaration.

Leaders at the event said the decision to rally behind a single candidate was driven by the need to avoid fragmentation of votes and strengthen the opposition’s chances at the polls.

Seyi Makinde, who hosted the delegation, while warning of not only a steady erosion of democratic competition, but that the concentration of political power under one party threatened pluralism, reminded the ruling party that the ‘wet e’ era in the defunct Western Nigeria, started from Ibadan, which he said must not be allowed to repeat itself.

“Democracy without opposition is not democracy, it is a slow drift toward a one-party state,” he said.

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National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Taminu Turaki, described the move as both strategic and necessary, warning that disunity has historically weakened opposition efforts.

“A single stick can be broken easily, but a bundle of sticks is far more difficult to break,” he said, urging political actors to prioritise national interest over individual ambition.

Turaki maintained that Nigeria is currently experiencing what he termed “progressive regression,” citing worsening insecurity, economic challenges, and declining confidence in democratic institutions.

“This is not a moment for silence or division; it is a moment for decisive action,” he said.

Former Senate President David Mark described the moment as a “national rescue mission,” stressing that no single opposition party could confront the current political structure alone.

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“We cannot confront the future as fragmented entities. This is the time to rewrite the story of coalition building in Nigeria,” Mark said.

In the communiqué issued at the end of the summit, opposition parties reaffirmed their commitment to contest the 2027 elections at all levels, rejecting what they described as attempts to impose a one-party state.

They also resolved to resist any move to make the election a one-candidate race, insisting that Nigerians must be presented with credible alternatives.

Beyond the consensus candidacy plan, the declaration raised concerns over the credibility of the electoral process.

They passed a vote of no confidence in the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan.

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The opposition leaders alleged bias and called for his removal from overseeing the 2027 elections.

The summit further urged the National Assembly to review contentious provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, and demanded an extension of deadlines for party primaries to the end of July 2026.

Participants also called for the release of political actors allegedly detained on bailable offences, stressing the need for inclusivity and respect for fundamental rights.

Speakers at the summit, in their separate remarks, repeatedly stressed that Nigeria stands at a critical juncture, urging leaders to act decisively to preserve democratic institutions.

The summit ended with the declaration of a shared commitment among opposition parties to deepen collaboration, rebuild public trust, and present a united challenge in 2027.

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The Ibadan meeting attracted several prominent political figures from different political parties, including the PDP and the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Among them were former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola, former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, political economist Pat Utomi, and elder statesman Jerry Gana, among other notable political leaders.

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President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, clapped back at Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in the 2023 presidential election, for dragging his name into the ongoing crisis within the African Democratic Congress (ADC), saying he has nothing to do with it.

In a state laced with mockery and triumphalism, against the backdrop of the current crisis that has erupted within the folds of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Tinubu, lashed out at Obi for failing to build a strong structure for his political needs.

Tinubu, who conveyed his position through Bayo Onanuga, his spokesman, pointed to a trail of recent political developments in the camp of the former Governor of Anambra State, saying he was no way connected, as being alleged by Obi’s supporters.

Using his X platform, titled: My response to Peter Obi’s media people,” the presidential spokesman wrote that it was wrong for some politicians to make Tinubu a “whipping boy” for political problems they created themselves.

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He wrote: “I wonder why all these incompetent politicians are turning President Bola Tinubu into their favourite whipping boy.

“The President has nothing to do with Obi’s abandonment of the Labour Party or the jam he appears to have run into in the ADC.

“After using the Labour Party to vie for the highest office in the country, Obi dumped it in a classic case of use-and-dump.”

Blaming the former governor for to demonstrate leadership in resolving the internal crisis in the Labour Party (LP) and for relying on the support base of the Obidient Movement rather than building a political structure, he accused him of looking for ready-made platforms.

His words: “Instead, he went to the embrace of his IPOB base, the so-called Obidient movement, which is more active online. You would think the man would transform the movement into a political party. But no, he didn’t do any such thing. He is just incapable of building an organic party of his own.

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“Because he knows he needs a political structure to realise his doomed dream of winning the presidency, he shopped for a cooked soup to partake in the ensuing party. The peripatetic politician moved to the hijacked ADC, an SPV bought by Atiku Abubakar from Ralph Nwosu.

“No due diligence appeared to have been conducted by the new owners, and thus, the nightmare they are confronting today. What is the connection of Tinubu with the ADC crisis? Absolutely none. Whatever problem they have is self-inflicted.

“Obi and his co-travellers need to get their acts together, clear the mess in their new party, and then compete for the presidential ticket. Let them go and settle with Nafiu Gombe and other disenchanted ADC members.

“As of now, Obi, without being made a candidate, is inconsequential for 2027. The fact that he came third in 2023 does not mean he will have the same showing in 2027, if he ever becomes a candidate of any party. 2023 is not like 2027.

“President Tinubu is an incumbent with many achievements to flaunt, most of which Obi has been blind to acknowledge. First things first. Let the man become a candidate first. All this blackmail against the President is sheer baloney, a very unfair attempt to besmirch his democratic credentials.”

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African Democratic Congress (ADC), may have its ranks swollen by gaining its first governor if Bala Mohammed, Governor of Bauchi State, eventually joins the coalition, which is fast gaining momentum as the major challenger of President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC).

Reports say the governor has indicated his intention to join the now main opposition party on Thursday, weeks after an alleged failed attempt to pitch his tent with the ruling APC over some irreconcilable differences.

The report, which said the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, hinted at the defection on Tuesday while hosting some ADC leaders, including Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), at the government house in Bauchi, pointed to the parlous situation in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where he had earlier held sway as a prominent leader.

Recall that Mohammed was and is still Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, where only himself and Seyi Makinde, his Oyo State counterpart are now remaining after the tsunami that swept away many of their colleagues alongside many other heavy heavyweights in the party.

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With the PDP, ostensibly firmly in the vice grip of Nyesom Wike, former Governor of Rivers State, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed and others, who have shown resentment towards the camp, have been left with little option other than quit.

The governor was quoted as saying: “We have found ourselves in a very serious situation. I have done everything possible to ensure reconciliation, but it has not worked.

“We set up committees at both the national and state levels to explore all options, including even the All Progressives Congress, but sadly, we discovered that we are not wanted there.”

Hinting further that ADC appeared to be the acceptable platform for him, Mohammed who stated that he had not concluded discussions, said David Mark, ADC National Chairman, had extended an invitation to him and his supporters to join the party after extensive consultations.

He added: “I’m here this morning with a delegation from the ADC headquarters, where my mentor, my boss, Senator David Mark, is leading, and he has sent an olive branch to reconnect me with the umbilical cord of the opposition, where I have always emerged from.

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“Certainly, as a leader in the PDP, we have found ourselves in a very serious ambivalence, where our party is headless. Of course, I have pursued all avenues for reconciliation, but it has not worked.

“Our people are putting me under extreme pressure, and we have set up two committees – one in Abuja at the national level, because of my position as a leader of the party, and one here to look at where to go.

“We left all our options open, including the APC itself, but certainly we have discovered that we cannot be where we are not wanted. We have to find a place within the opposition.

“That is where our fate and political destiny is taking us. And the ADC appears to be a very enduring and more acceptable platform among the people who are engaging with me so far.”

Stating that consultations were still ongoing, and that a final decision would be communicated by Thursday, he maintained that inclusivity remained key to whatever direction is taken.

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His words: “We are very conscious of the timeline. Everything will be concluded by Thursday so that we will be on the same page and not exclude ourselves from participation. And so, you will hear a firm commitment from us by Thursday, when we would have met in Abuja. That was why I said I have to carry everybody along.”

The governor, while stressing that due diligence was key before any political realignment is finalised, stated that engagements were ongoing with stakeholders across the PDP at both levels to ensure a smooth transition and avoid missteps.

“For now, I would say this is our preferred destination, but we have not concluded in a way that allows us to deepen stakeholder engagement and collaboration so that we do not make mistakes. That is where we are,” he said while expressing appreciation for the outreach by the ADC, describing it as timely given the PDP internal challenges.

Emphasising that political strength ultimately rested with the electorate and not party structures alone, he added: “We believe in winning elections, and elections are contested and won at the polling unit. We are not afraid of anyone.

“We have done all we can in terms of self-preservation, political accommodation, and participation, but it is not working. Therefore, we must now confront the challenges of this existential option being presented to us by the ADC.”

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