Several opposition parties have agreed to establish a formal framework for cooperation ahead of the 2027 general election, drawing lessons from the alliance that defeated an incumbent president in 2015.
Representatives of the African Democratic Congress, Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peoples Redemption Party, Allied Peoples Movement, Social Democratic Party and the Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party participated in the G100 summit in Abuja.
The meeting was convened by civil society actors under the G100 platform.
Organisers said the summit was not intended to immediately produce a single presidential candidate or dissolve participating parties.
Instead, the objective was to create a structured process through which opposition parties could negotiate areas of cooperation.
G100 convener Salihu Mohammed Lukman argued that opposition fragmentation had previously weakened electoral competitiveness.
He pointed to the 2015 election as an example of parties agreeing on rules and a framework before resolving leadership questions.
Participants broadly endorsed the argument that cooperation could improve their ability to compete against the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Minority Leader of the House of Representatives Fred Agbedi said divided opposition parties risked repeating past electoral failures.
PRP chairman Hakeem Baba-Ahmed also supported cooperation, arguing that no single opposition party was likely to defeat the incumbent on its own.
The participating parties signed a communique establishing three standing coalition organs.
These are a Central Leadership Committee, a Publicity and Communication Committee and a Legal Committee.
The parties also agreed to create five working groups with representatives from each participating party.
The groups are expected to prepare documents including a National Covenant for Democratic Renewal, a Single-Term Transition Charter, a reform framework for opposition unity and a roadmap toward a common presidential candidate.
The documents are to be submitted within four weeks ahead of a second summit.
The agreement represents an early organizational step rather than a final coalition settlement.
Major issues, including candidate selection, party autonomy, power sharing and the durability of any eventual alliance, remain unresolved.
