In a bold move that signals the early stirrings of a major political showdown ahead of the 2027 general elections, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Senate President David Mark, and former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, alongside a host of other influential political heavyweights, converged in Abuja on Monday to strategize on a unified front to challenge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The high-stakes meeting, held behind closed doors at the prestigious Transcorp Hilton Hotel, is part of a wider political chess game orchestrated by opposition leaders seeking to forge a formidable coalition capable of unseating the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its incumbent president.
Also present at the political convergence were former PDP National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus, ex-Governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), and Sam Egwu (Ebonyi), sources confirmed.
Presided over by David Mark, the gathering reportedly revolved around a critical strategic choice: whether to collapse existing political structures into a broader coalition movement or retain a unified opposition within the PDP framework.
Insiders disclosed that the conversation marks the beginning of a broader opposition realignment, as key players weigh the political arithmetic necessary to upstage the ruling APC come 2027.
Meanwhile, tensions within the PDP remain palpable, with the party’s 100th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held at its national secretariat in Abuja proceeding amidst internal friction and legitimacy disputes. The NEC meeting, scheduled for Monday, June 30, 2025, drew a visible security presence around the Wadata Plaza headquarters, allegedly to forestall attempts to disrupt proceedings, including a proposed Expanded National Caucus meeting.
Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, the PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), insisted that the NEC session was constitutionally binding on all party organs and members.
“By virtue of Section 31(3) of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017), the Monday, June 30, 2025 date for the 100th NEC meeting is binding on all organs and members,” Arapaja stated emphatically.
However, the party remains deeply divided. A faction loyal to Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum, supported by influential figures like former Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike and some sitting governors, is reportedly pushing for the reinstatement of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the party’s National Secretary and the postponement of the NEC meeting.
Despite the internal wranglings, sources close to the opposition leadership confirmed that Monday’s NEC gathering would deliberate on pivotal party activities, including a possible date for the National Convention—a move many see as an attempt to resolve the leadership crisis and reposition the PDP as a viable electoral force ahead of the next presidential election.
As Nigeria inches closer to another defining electoral cycle, the Abuja parley underscores the early jostling for power and the intensifying urgency within opposition ranks to recalibrate, consolidate, and present a united front against the ruling establishment. The 2027 race, it seems, has already begun.
PIONEER NEWS 