Sowore Warns Tinubu May Benefit from Current Opposition Coalition Efforts

A former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has said the ongoing coalition talks among opposition political actors may end up boosting President Bola Tinubu’s chances of re-election rather than challenging his grip on power.

Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme on Tuesday, Sowore said the current political realignments lack vision, ideological clarity, and genuine intent to liberate the masses.

“It is what they [the coalition] are doing that will make it easy for him (Tinubu) to rerun and return to office,” he stated.

“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.”

He described the ongoing coalition efforts as hollow and without ideological conviction.

“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,” Sowore said.

His comments come amid growing political maneuvering ahead of the 2027 general elections. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been at the forefront of efforts to form a united opposition front.

Atiku recently confirmed holding talks with Labour Party’s Peter Obi and former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

However, the coalition effort appears to be faltering as key blocs continue to raise concerns. The PDP Governors’ Forum has publicly distanced itself from the talks, warning against actions that could destabilize the party’s internal cohesion.

In a similar vein, Peter Obi has declared that he would not join any merger designed solely to wrest power, insisting that any alliance must be grounded in addressing Nigeria’s fundamental governance failures.

Sowore, offering an alternative vision, urged Nigerians to stop depending on political elites and instead take control of their political destiny.

“The people need to understand that the only way out is the one they design for themselves. There has to be a different direction,” he said.

“If you keep letting them do what they are doing with you — and you get distracted by all these conversations about coalitions — you are going to find yourself in a worse situation than now. That has been Nigeria’s story since the emergence of civil rule,” he added.