Former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has warned that current opposition coalition efforts lack vision and ideology, potentially strengthening President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid rather than challenging it.
The coalition talks involve key opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
However, the efforts appear far from cohesive, with the PDP Governors’ Forum distancing itself from the talks and Obi insisting that any merger must address Nigeria’s deeper governance problems.
”It is what they [the coalition] are doing that will make it easy for him [Tinubu] to rerun and return to office.
”They are preventing the real, organic coalition of the oppressed from emerging.
”People are getting distracted Nigerians actually think these guys are fighting for them,” Sowore said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday.
Sowore described the coalition talks as hollow and lacking substance, stating that they were preventing a genuine, organic coalition of the oppressed from emerging.
“I’m not a lone voice, the coalition is what is lonely. That’s why they can’t even hold meetings or find a party to join.
“Now they say they want to register a party that’s loneliness. Any coalition without ideology is a lonely coalition. There’s no coalition without conviction, character, or integrity,” he said.
Sowore called for Nigerians to stop depending on political elites and begin crafting solutions on their terms, urging a different direction.
Sowore emphasised the need for authentic activism and differentiation between genuine coalition-building and opportunism.
He said, “I’m the leader of the coalition of the oppressed, not the coalition of the hungry, led by Amaechi and the others.”
Sowore also criticised the current government, warning Nigerians not to place hope in its policies amid the biting economy.
He said that Nigerians are suffering and should not expect meaningful change from the current administration.
Sowore’s highlighted the challenges facing the opposition in Nigeria and the need for a genuine, organic movement that prioritised the interests of the people.
As the 2027 elections approach, the opposition must navigate these complexities to present a united front against the ruling party.
