Opposition parties set August 31 for unity summit against Tinubu

(President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Photo Credit: Guardian Nigeria News)

Opposition political parties have chosen August 31, 2026, as the date to bring their forces together and challenge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for re-election.

Salihu Lukman, a senior opposition leader speaking on behalf of the G100 opposition group, announced the decision on Thursday.

He said the gathering and summit will kick off formal negotiations between the parties.

They want to work out the terms, structures and principles that will guide how they can work together during the 2027 general election.

The meeting became necessary after weeks of direct talks with leaders from six opposition parties.

These include the African Democratic Congress, Allied Peoples Movement, National Democratic Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, Peoples Redemption Party and Social Democratic Party.

Lukman explained that those consultations led to a framework document that showed where the parties agree with each other.

The document is titled A Framework for Opposition Cooperation and Coordination.

It identifies areas where the parties can find common ground while respecting that each party has its own history, identity and political goals.

Lukman stressed that cooperation does not mean smaller parties need to disappear into larger ones.

He said the first question party leaders should ask is not who will lead the ticket, but what they are prepared to do together for the country.

“Cooperation does not require any party to disappear into another.

The first question before party leaders is not who leads the ticket. It is what we are, together, prepared to do for this country,” Lukman said.