Group carpets opposition parties, says lacks meaningful engagement

By Jude Opara

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, a political pressure group, The Alternative, has raised concerns about the effectiveness of opposition political parties in Nigeria.

It questioned their ability to strengthen democracy beyond contesting elections.

Peoples Daily reports that opposition politicians have been holding strategic meetings across the country.

They are believed to be working towards stopping President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

But speaking at a town hall meeting in Enugu, the group’s Convener, Segun Showunmi, criticized the opposition for failing to engage meaningfully with electoral and governance challenges, adding that forming new political parties would not automatically address the deeper problems within the electoral process

He said: “We have looked at the political parties and the way they are behaving. Everyone in the country is rumoring that it is only the ruling party that is prepared and ready. We cannot accept the idea that people will be looking for another platform only for the purpose of the contest,” Showunmi said.

“So we felt to start this movement with the view of ensuring that the ills that affect the process can be discussed. For instance, even if you registered a new political party, how will that prevent vote buying and selling unless we advocate about it?

“We have 18 political parties already. Even if we register another one and people don’t turn up, and you are barely able to get 25 million people turning up and you install a president with 8 million votes, what will the new party do?”

“When you say that the people are not turning up, you have to go and beg them. We don’t need to be fighting ourselves in tribal direction. We can be one in this country, and whatever thing we have not been able to resolve today, we should be hopeful that we will resolve it tomorrow.”

He criticized the opposition for not doing enough to mobilize citizens, educate voters, and challenge electoral irregularities.

“I have taken up to reach the people what an opposition movement should look like.

‘Opposition movement should be able to speak to the challenges of the process. Is it the federal government that tells people not to turn up during elections? Is it the federal government that says people should be buying and selling their votes? The answer is no,” he said.

Showunmi also urged opposition parties to shift from ethnic and sectional politics to a more inclusive approach that unites Nigerians under a common goal.