Former Kano State governor and PDP stalwart, Ibrahim Shekarau, says defeating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027 will require a coalition of political parties — not just a group of ambitious individuals.
Shekarau urged opposition parties to unite under a strong, structured platform if they hope to unseat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He clarified that he never said Tinubu couldn’t be defeated, but stressed that a coalition built around personalities rather than parties is doomed to fail.
“Some people misunderstood me,” Shekarau explained. “I did not say a coalition couldn’t win in 2027. What I said was that a coalition of individuals, rather than parties, could not.”
To illustrate, he pointed to the failed 2011 attempt by the now-defunct ACN, CPC, and ANPP to form a united front against then-President Goodluck Jonathan.
“I was a principal actor in that effort,” he said. “We met several times — even at Tinubu’s Abuja residence. At one point, Buhari, Ribadu, and I, as presidential candidates of CPC, ACN, and ANPP, gathered at Buhari’s house to discuss further. But it didn’t work out, and we all went into the election separately.”
According to Shekarau, the lesson from that failure paved the way for the successful 2015 merger that birthed the APC. The key difference? Party leaders negotiated on behalf of their parties, not themselves.
“This time,” he recalled, “each party set up a 21-member committee. I led the ANPP team, Tom Ikimi headed ACN’s, and Garba Gadi led CPC’s. All serving and former governors from the three parties were part of the process. That’s why it worked.”
