Opposition Summit: G100 proposes single four-year transition government
POLITICS DIGEST – The G100 has proposed the establishment of a Government of National Competence that would operate for a single four-year transition term as part of efforts to forge unity among Nigeria’s opposition political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The proposal was presented by Mallam Salihu Mohammed Lukman on behalf of the G100 at the Summit of Nigeria’s Opposition Political Parties held on Monday at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the African Democratic Congress, ADC; Allied Peoples Movement, APM; Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC; Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; Peoples Redemption Party, PRP; and the Social Democratic Party, SDP.
Also present were some presidential and vice-presidential candidates, as well as the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
At the commencement of the summit, SDP presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo; his PRP counterpart, Donald Duke; and APM vice-presidential candidate, Lawal Daura, were in attendance.
ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and NDC candidate, Peter Obi, were still being expected.
Lukman said the proposed transition government would be founded on competence, integrity, national inclusion and equitable representation for all political parties involved in the arrangement.
According to him, the government would be guided by a disciplined and time-bound Four-Year National Reset Programme.
“The framework before you proposes something more demanding than a merger of ambitions: a Government of National Competence, built on competence, integrity, national inclusion and fair representation of every party that contributes to the effort,” he said.
He added that the proposed government should be backed by a commitment to a single four-year term and captured in an enforceable Transition Charter.
Lukman stressed that such an agreement must go beyond verbal assurances, insisting that political commitments must have clear mechanisms for enforcement.
“We want to underline the word ‘enforceable’. This gathering does not need more sincerity. Nigerian politics has never suffered from a shortage of sincere promises. What it has suffered from is promises that nobody could enforce when the person who made them changed his or her mind,” he said.
He added that any agreement reached by the parties must be documented, witnessed and backed by consequences for violations.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s opposition politics since 1999, Lukman noted that opposition parties contested the presidential elections of 2003, 2007 and 2011 as divided forces.
He said the opposition only achieved electoral victory in 2015 after political parties agreed on rules of engagement before deciding on candidates.
According to him, that discipline was lacking during the 2023 presidential election, when opposition votes were divided among several candidates.
Lukman argued that the combined votes of major opposition candidates exceeded those of the eventual winner, but the division of the opposition ensured that the party with fewer votes than the combined opposition total formed the government.
“The winner took just under nine million votes. One opposition candidate took close to seven million. Another took just over six million. Thirteen million votes on one side of the argument, under nine million on the other. And the side with fewer votes formed the government, lawfully, constitutionally, and entirely predictably,” he said.
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He described the outcome as a consequence of opposition disunity rather than a conspiracy.
Lukman also unveiled proposed structures for the planned cooperation among opposition parties.
He said three standing coalition bodies were being considered.
The first is a Central Leadership Committee comprising national chairmen, national secretaries, presidential candidates and vice-presidential candidates to provide political direction.
The second is a Publicity and Communication Committee expected to coordinate joint messaging, while the third is a Legal Committee that would handle legal strategy and provide advice on coalition-related matters.
According to Lukman, the G100 would only participate in the proposed structures as facilitators and observers, subject to the approval of the participating parties.
He further disclosed that five Working Groups would be established, with each participating party nominating one representative.
The groups are expected to produce working papers within four weeks on a National Covenant for Democratic Renewal, a Single-Term Transition Charter, a National Reform Programme, a Framework for Opposition Unity and a Roadmap to a Common Presidential Candidate.
The documents, he said, would subsequently be presented at a Second Summit for consideration and possible adoption.
Lukman, however, clarified that the Abuja summit was not aimed at compelling any political party to dissolve, merge with another party or produce a consensus presidential candidate immediately.
“It is not asking any party to dissolve. It is not asking any party to disappear into another party. It is not asking any candidate to stand down this morning,” he said.
“That question is not on the agenda of this Summit, and any report that says otherwise will be wrong.”
He explained that the immediate objective was to establish a framework for cooperation before discussions begin on candidates and other political arrangements.
“What we are seeking is authorisation to build the table before negotiating the seats around it,” he added.
Lukman urged party leaders to approach the proposed alliance with openness, proper sequencing and a willingness to make sacrifices.
He warned that previous coalition efforts had been weakened by hidden interests and premature attempts to settle issues that should come later in the negotiation process.
“A hard line declared this morning is a problem that can be solved between now and the Second Summit. A hard line concealed this morning is a coalition that collapses in October,” he said.
Lukman said the G100, in collaboration with the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives, convened the summit without supporting any particular political party or presidential candidate.
“We are not promoting any candidate, no preference among the six parties in this hall, and nothing to gain from one of you rather than another,” he said.
“Our only interest is the one stated in the Doctrine we published on August 2: that a democracy is sustained not merely by holding elections, but by the credible possibility of an alternative government.”
He said the worsening economic and security challenges facing Nigerians underscored the need for a credible and united opposition capable of offering an alternative government.
Lukman cited the example of a woman in Kaduna who withdrew her child from school because of rising fees, a farmer in Benue displaced from his land and a graduate in Aba who had given up searching for a job.
“They are entitled to something, and it is this: a real choice, presented by serious people, capable of governing,” he said.
“That is all a democratic opposition owes its country, and it is not a small debt.”
