There is hunger in the land. We are suffering.
Seven months before Nigeria's 2027 presidential election, the opposition has shattered into eleven competing candidacies across twenty-two registered parties, undoing unity pledges made as recently as 2024. What was once a hopeful coalition assembled in Oyo State has dissolved into factional warfare, rival nominations, and courtroom battles over who legitimately leads which party. The fracturing raises a question older than any single election: whether political ambition, left unchecked, consumes the very coalitions it was meant to build. Meanwhile, ordinary Nigerians — burdened by hunger, insecurity, and rising costs — watch and wonder whether any of these contenders are running for the country or merely for themselves.
- A unity summit held in Oyo State less than two years ago has collapsed entirely, with the opposition now producing eleven presidential candidates instead of one coherent challenger to President Tinubu's APC.
- Major parties including the PDP, SDP, Labour Party, and ADC have each fractured into rival factions, with contested primaries, disputed nominations, and high-profile resignations deepening the chaos.
- Courtroom battles over party leadership, national secretaries, and registration legitimacy threaten to invalidate nominations and further destabilize opposition structures before the race even begins.
- The ruling APC stands to benefit most from this fragmentation, as a divided opposition is unlikely to consolidate enough votes to mount a serious challenge to the incumbent.
- Across Nigeria — from Port Harcourt markets to Ado Ekiti classrooms — citizens are expressing the same urgent demand: address hunger, insecurity, electricity failure, and joblessness, or step aside.
Seven months before Nigerians vote, the opposition has fractured comprehensively. Twenty-two registered parties are fielding eleven presidential candidates — a stark reversal of the unity pledged at a 2024 summit in Oyo State, where opposition leaders promised to present a single formidable challenge to President Bola Tinubu and his All Progressives Congress.
The breakdown runs deep. The African Democratic Congress has split three ways: one faction backing veteran opposition figure Atiku Abubakar, another supporting Dumebi Kachikwu, and a third aligned with Prof Chris Uba. Atiku's nomination was immediately contested — a prominent party member and former SGF, Babachir Lawal, resigned claiming the primary was rigged, and Atiku has since been shuttling between cities trying to reconcile with rivals he defeated. The Peoples Democratic Party has similarly divided, with one wing nominating Senator Sandy Onor and another offering the ticket to former President Goodluck Jonathan. The Social Democratic Party, the Labour Party, and others are caught in parallel splits and prolonged leadership disputes that have persisted since the 2023 elections.
Beyond candidate multiplication, these parties are entangled in litigation — over national secretaries, party organs, executive recognition, and registration legitimacy. Adverse rulings could reshape the race itself, weakening structures and clouding who actually leads what. If the opposition remains consumed by internal warfare, the APC is positioned to benefit without needing to do very much at all.
For ordinary Nigerians, the spectacle has hardened a painful suspicion: that politicians are chasing power rather than solving problems. From traders in Port Harcourt's Mile 3 Market to teachers in Yaba, artists in Ibadan, and pastors in Ado Ekiti, the message is consistent and urgent — food prices have doubled, electricity remains unreliable, insecurity keeps farmers from their fields and students in fear of kidnapping, and young people cannot build careers in an economy without jobs. The demands are not abstract: economic recovery, security, electricity, accountability. Fix the basics, Nigerians are saying, or do not bother running.
Seven months before Nigerians vote for their next president, the opposition has fractured into pieces. Twenty-two registered parties are now in the race. Eleven presidential candidates have emerged from their ranks. This is not what was supposed to happen.
Less than two years ago, opposition leaders gathered at a political summit in Oyo State, organized by Governor Seyi Makinde, and promised unity. They spoke of presenting a single, formidable challenge to President Bola Tinubu and his ruling All Progressives Congress. The mood was hopeful. The plan seemed solid. But somewhere between that summit and now, the coalition collapsed into competing factions, rival candidates, and legal warfare over who actually controls which party.
The fracturing is comprehensive. The African Democratic Congress has split into three camps, each backing a different presidential candidate. The Peoples Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the Labour Party have each produced two contenders from warring internal factions. Only the African Action Congress has managed to settle on a single flagbearer, Omoyele Sowore. Meanwhile, Governor Makinde is running his own race on the Allied Peoples Movement platform. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, once a vocal advocate for opposition unity, is now the Accord Party's presidential candidate. Former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke carries the People's Redemption Party's banner. The list keeps growing.
The chaos within the major opposition parties reveals something deeper than mere disagreement. The African Democratic Congress, for instance, is torn three ways. One faction, led by former Senate President David Mark, has nominated Atiku Abubakar, the veteran opposition figure who ran for president in 2019 and 2023 as a Peoples Democratic Party candidate. A second ADC faction has put forward Dumebi Kachikwu. A third, controlled by party chairman Bala Gombe, is backing Prof Chris Uba. When Atiku's nomination was announced, a prominent party member and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, resigned from the ADC, claiming the primary election that produced Atiku was rigged. Atiku has since been traveling between Abuja and Lagos, trying to reconcile with rivals he defeated in that contested primary—former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.
The Peoples Democratic Party itself is splintering along factional lines. One wing, backed by Nyesom Wike, has nominated Senator Sandy Onor as its presidential candidate. Another faction, led by Kabiru Turaki, has offered the ticket to former President Goodluck Jonathan. The Social Democratic Party has split as well, with businessman Adewole Adebayo securing one faction's nomination while another faction, led by Shehu Gabam, has backed Abimbola Akeem Atanda. The Labour Party remains locked in a prolonged leadership dispute between rival executives, a crisis that has persisted since the 2023 elections.
Beyond the multiplication of candidates, these parties are entangled in court battles. The PDP faces litigation over its national secretary and the legitimacy of some party organs. The Labour Party is consumed by a leadership tussle involving competing executives. The SDP is fighting over party administration and the recognition of certain officials. The National Democratic Congress has been battling over its registration and internal administration. These legal cases could reshape the race itself—adverse rulings might complicate candidate nominations, weaken party structures, and create uncertainty about who actually leads what. If opposition parties remain consumed by internal warfare rather than presenting a coherent alternative, the ruling APC stands to benefit.
For ordinary Nigerians watching this unfold, the divisions have deepened a troubling suspicion: that politicians care more about seizing power for themselves than about addressing the country's actual crises. Dr Lawrence Bekwele, a marketing lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, described a growing disconnect between political leaders and the people they claim to represent. Many politicians, he argued, appear far more concerned with personal and political interests than with public welfare. Across the country, from Port Harcourt to Lagos to Ibadan to Ado Ekiti, citizens expressed similar frustrations. They spoke of hunger, of food prices that have doubled and tripled, of transportation costs that make daily life a calculation in survival. They want a president who understands their suffering and will act on it.
The expectations are concrete and urgent: economic recovery, improved security, stable electricity supply, job creation, and accountable leadership. A trader at Mile 3 Market in Port Harcourt said the government keeps making promises without delivering action. A Mushin-based trader in Lagos identified electricity, security, and the cost of living as the three things that matter most. A teacher in Yaba called for accountability and real economic planning, particularly for young people trying to build careers. An artist in Ibadan stressed that protecting lives and property must be the first assignment of any president. A pastor and civil servant in Ado Ekiti said that without adequate security, development remains a mirage—farmers want to return to their fields without paying bandits, and students want to travel without fear of kidnapping. A secondary school teacher in Ondo State lamented that innocent lives continue to be lost while citizens struggle to make ends meet. The message, repeated across multiple states and multiple voices, was the same: fix the basics, or do not bother running.
Notable Quotes
Many politicians appear more concerned with personal and political interests than with the welfare of the people.— Dr Lawrence Bekwele, marketing lecturer at University of Port Harcourt
We need a president who is people-oriented, who can genuinely feel the pain of the masses and take deliberate steps to improve their living conditions, not leaders who think only about themselves and their families.— Elizabeth Amadi, trader at Mile 3 Market, Port Harcourt
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did the opposition unity promise fall apart so quickly? It was less than two years ago.
Because unity is easy to promise when you're out of power and facing a common enemy. The hard part is deciding who gets to lead that unified front. Once the summit ended and people started thinking about 2027 seriously, every faction realized they had their own candidate, their own base, their own claim to legitimacy. The coalition became a threat to individual ambitions rather than a vehicle for them.
So these legal battles over party leadership—are those a cause of the fragmentation or a symptom of it?
Both. The factions existed before the courts got involved. But the lawsuits are now weaponizing those divisions. When you have rival executives claiming to control the same party, you end up with rival candidates claiming to represent the same party. The courts could theoretically settle this, but adverse rulings could also disqualify candidates or delegitimize nominations. It's become a way to fight your opponents through the legal system instead of through the primary process.
What does this mean for the actual election in 2027?
It means the opposition vote gets split eleven ways instead of consolidating behind one challenger. That's the APC's dream scenario. President Tinubu doesn't have to convince anyone he's better—he just has to watch the opposition tear itself apart. The ruling party has already named him as their sole flagbearer. They're unified. The opposition is not.
But voters seem angry about the economy and security. Shouldn't that anger translate into a strong opposition showing regardless of fragmentation?
Anger alone doesn't win elections if it's distributed across too many candidates. A voter in Lagos might want change desperately, but if they're split between eleven different opposition options, and the ruling party is consolidated, the math works against them. Plus, when voters see politicians fighting each other instead of fighting for solutions to inflation and insecurity, it erodes confidence in the entire political class.
Is there any chance the opposition consolidates before the election?
Theoretically, yes. Atiku is trying to reconcile with his defeated rivals. Some factions might merge. But we're seven months out, and the legal battles are still ongoing. Every day that passes without resolution makes consolidation harder, not easier. The window for unity is closing.