Opposition parties ADC and PDP agree to field joint candidate for 2027 presidential election

• Opposition parties ADC and PDP agree to field a joint presidential candidate for the 2027 elections

• The announcement was made at a congress in Ibadan, Oyo State, hosted by Governor Seyi Makinde

• The opposition also demanded the resignation of the INEC chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan.

The announcement was made on April 25, 2026, during a meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, between the leaders of the African Democratic Congress and the People's Democratic Party.

The opposition coalition stated that the decision was motivated by a desire to stop the ruling All Progressives Congress from making Nigeria a one-party state.

The conference hosted by the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, had present leaders of the African Democratic Congress led by its chairman, former Senate President David Mark and members of the Makinde-led faction of the People's Democratic Party, whose chairman Kabiru Turaki read the resolution.

At the press conference in Ibadan, the opposition parties also demanded the resignation of the embattled INEC chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, who has been accused of owning a now-deleted X account through which he shared his support for the victory of President Tinubu during the 2023 elections.

The ADC has previously called for the resignation of the INEC chairman after the commission announced that it would no longer recognise the David Mark-led executive following a decision of the Court of Appeal in a suit filed by Honourable Nafiu Bello, the former ADC deputy chairman, who is laying claim to the chairmanship.

Political moves continue to heat up ahead of the 2027 elections, where the incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC would be seeking a new 4-year mandate.

Despite the crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress, it remains the leading opposition party with several notable politicians adopting it as the platform to achieve their political goals in 2027.

The ADC boasts of several political heavyweights including former presidential candidates Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and Peter Obi, who will all be eyeing the ticket. Also at the party are the former governors of Osun State, Rivers, and Sokoto States, Rauf Aregbesola, Rotimi Amaechi, and Aminu Tambuwal.

The Seyi Makinde-led faction by the PDP, which has been at loggerheads with the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike-led faction, will be hoping to combine forces with the ADC to boot out the ruling All Progressive Congress, whom they have accused of attempting to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.