2027: Utomi-led MCE panel shortlists seven opposition parties for coalition

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) has commenced high-level engagements aimed at building a broad opposition coalition capable of producing a consensus presidential candidate.

The MCE said its Political Commission, chaired by political economist and Convener of the Big Tent Political Movement, Prof. Pat Utomi, had shortlisted seven opposition political parties and their presidential candidates for further engagements and possible endorsement.

In a statement issued on Thursday by the MCE Media Coordinator, Comrade James Ezema, the commission said it had been reviewing the profiles, ideologies, electoral programmes and curricula vitae of various parties and presidential contenders since July.

The panel, according to the statement, is seeking to identify what it described as the most credible alternative for the Nigerian electorate ahead of the 2027 poll.

The MCE said the names and profiles of the shortlisted parties and candidates would be formally unveiled at a press conference scheduled for next week.

It said the event would also present the commission’s work plan, modalities for the coalition-building process and the various working sub-committees that would drive the engagement.

According to the organisation, the coalition process would be anchored on a power-sharing model designed to avoid the challenges that undermined previous opposition alliances.

The proposed framework builds on the declaration reached at the opposition summit in Ibadan in April 2026, with the parties involved expected to sign a legally binding Memorandum of Understanding by November 2026.

The MCE said it was broadening its consultation process by bringing in external stakeholders, including G-100 Nigerians, to make the coalition-building effort more inclusive.

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It said a team comprising pro-democracy advocates, civic leaders and politicians would work alongside Utomi in conducting the tactical negotiations.

Members of the team listed by the MCE include Hadjia Maryam Inna Ciroma, Mrs Modupe Adelaja, former Minister of Youths and Sports Development Comrade Solomon Dalung, Hon. Uche Onyeagocha, Dr Sam Amadi, Dr Mike Iginni, Obongawan Barbara Etim James, veteran Olawale Okunniyi and Dr Adum Ter Alex.

The MCE said its intervention was intended to be pro-people and pan-Nigerian, with the objective of creating an electoral balance of power and preventing what it described as a looming threat of anarchy.

It stressed that it was not seeking to impose a presidential candidate on the opposition but to facilitate genuine political competition and provide Nigerians with credible choices at the polls.

“Democracy is best protected when citizens have genuine choices, institutions are credible, political competition exists, and the electoral process is sufficiently robust to reflect the will of the people,” the statement said.

The organisation also announced plans for a leadership retreat involving its members, allies and volunteers, where roles would be assigned and strategies developed to strengthen its mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.

The retreat is expected to form part of the MCE’s broader effort to mobilise voters and promote what it described as a process that would ensure that the people’s votes count in 2027.