•Failure to agree on rallying point a major mistake —Source •As Mark, Saraki adopt siddon look approach
FRESH hurdles are said to be emerging in the camps of the leaders and proponents of the mega party being put together by political forces opposed to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Investigation by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the coalition is already being troubled by the discovery of what sources called “tactical lopses”.
The development was said to have informed the inability of the group to announce its operations’ codes, identity and manifesto at the end of February 2025 as planned.
Sources close to the coalition told the Nigerian Tribune that the proponents failed to address what some stakeholders regarded as “fundamental issues” at the start of the talks, preferring to warehouse top politicians first before settling down to iron out those issues.
A source said that unlike the processes that led to the 2014 exercise, which led to the emergence of the All Progressive Congress (APC), proponents of the emerging mega party had resolved not to iron out the critical issues ab initio.
It was gathered that instead of clearly defining who would be the rallying point of the coalition, the leadership believed that the matter would be resolved during the primaries.
That to many of the stakeholders reached out to, was like leaving fire on the rooftop of the house.
A source claimed that though, the 2014 process which threw up President Muhammadu Buhari during the primaries was made to look as if the processes were being followed, the matter had been determined long before the coalition was struck.
“For instance, at least 70 percent of the leaders of the coalition that formed the APC knew that Buhari would eventually emerge as the presidential candidate, even though other candidates like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had hopes of clinching the ticket. It was clear that 70 percent of us were working for Buhari. That way nobody came into the fold feeling cheated or deceived when the party’s primaries were won and lost,” a source said.
Another source added, however, that the situation within the coalition being led by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) is different from the above, as the leaders and stakeholders are being asked to downplay the question of who would emerge as the coalition’s rallying point until the period of the primaries.
While some of the sources said that they were not desperate to seek elective offices, they claimed that the issue of who gets what should have been sorted at the very start of alliance talks.
Another source stated: “From the beginning (in 2014), it became clear that the coalition was being built to use Buhari as the arrowhead. The lack of that central figure candidate is one of the deficiencies of the current mega party. Who will be the flagbearer and how many aspirants will emerge from the platform?”
The source stated that one of the key game changers in 2014 was the former President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, who was able to use his network and popularity among the business community to popularise the party and get it a wide acceptability. Within a short time, the ruling party at the time was almost being run out of office as the administration of Dr Goodluck Jonathan became very unpopular the among the people.
Though, it was gathered that proponents of the coalition reached out to major stakeholders, including the likes of Saraki and former Senate President David Mark, sources said that the duo and other leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have decided to siddon look
Sources said that Saraki was of the view that a coalition around the PDP would serve the opposition better, adding that not all leaders would act like Jonathan. Mark, on the other hand, was said to have decided to “keep watching from the sidelines” as things unfold.
The Nigerian Tribune was further told that proponents of the coalition saw their failure to get Saraki into their fold as a major setback, as the former Senate President was said to have undertaken a yeoman’s job to see the APC cross the line.
“Saraki was seen as a game changer in the 2014 exercise as he used his network, mobilisation skills, and popularity within the public and private sectors to secure necessary backing for the party. And when he led the nPDP, and some stakeholders were getting worried, he had to issue a statement to indicate that he was not contesting the presidency,” that is lacking in the current situation, the source said.
Sources said that it was wrong for the coalition proponents to harness like four presidential hopefuls, while they intend to determine the presidential candidate after the formation of the structure.
For instance, the coalition is already getting saturated with possible presidential candidates with the likes of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party Presidential candidate in the 2023, Mr Peter Obi, the NNPP presidential candidate, Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso and the Presidential candidate of the SDP in 2023 election, Adewole Adebayo, being linked with the coalition.
Sources said that whereas the former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai has not publicly announced his presidential bid, his intention of joining the coalition may be to slug it out with President Bola Tinubu.
Without a clear direction on who the likely candidate would be, many are beginning to develop cold feet towards the coalition, sources stated.
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