The presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, and the party’s leadership have expressed readiness to back a formidable opposition candidate in the 2027 general election, provided a genuine consensus emerges within the opposition coalition to challenge President Bola Tinubu.
Duke stated that he would respect a democratic decision by opposition parties to rally behind another presidential hopeful—such as former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar or the Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate, Peter Obi—insisting that any such agreement must be birthed through a collective, principle-driven process.
The former Cross River State governor made this known on Tuesday in Abuja during the unveiling of his running mate, Malam Sule Mohammed, and the official presentation of the party’s manifesto.
Asked whether he would step down if the PRP and the broader opposition coalition agreed to field a single candidate against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Duke maintained that the primary objective of a coalition should transcend the mere sharing of political offices or the selection of a flagbearer.
According to him, opposition parties must first harmonize their ideological vision for Nigeria before deciding who leads the alliance.
“A coalition is not just about picking a presidential candidate; that’s the mistake we’re all making,” Duke said. “It’s about us coming together to agree on where we would like to take our nation. You’ve called the names of two eminent politicians, but that may not be enough. So, I don’t want to presuppose anything. But at the end of the day, I’ll be sportsmanlike about it.
“If the group—and so far there are quite a number of us—comes up with an agreement that this is the best person to lead the coalition, you can’t say you’re a democrat and not be subject to the rules of democracy. Of course, if it’s me, I hope they would do the same. And if it’s any other person, I would do the same; I would respect it.
“We don’t want to replace the APC or the present administration with someone who would take us backward. So, if the candidates and the party agree on a consensus figure, of course, that is what is expected of me.”
Duke also leveled criticisms against the ruling APC, accusing the party of exploiting an overwhelming advantage in campaign visibility. He alleged that opposition parties are facing systemic hurdles, including difficulties in securing public venues and outdoor advertising spaces ahead of the polls.
He argued that these bottlenecks are deliberately designed to stifle the opposition’s outreach to voters nationwide.
“If you go throughout the country, you hardly find opposition billboards and posters on the streets,” Duke said. “You only find one party—the APC. In some states, I’m told you need to spend as much as ₦1bn just to begin advertising. When you are running at a national level across 36 states and the FCT, that is a prohibitive amount of money.
“For us in the PRP, we had to postpone this retreat several times because we were repeatedly deprived of venues on flimsy excuses.”
PRP Rules Out Collapsing Structure
On his part, PRP National Chairman Hakeem Baba-Ahmed affirmed that while the party is exploring options to strengthen opposition unity, it has completely ruled out collapsing its party structure into another political platform.
Baba-Ahmed stated that the PRP is prepared to support one or two credible opposition candidates capable of unseating the APC in 2027, maintaining that the party’s participation in the emerging coalition does not equate to sacrificing its distinct political identity.
“We can’t collapse our structure for anybody because that era is over,” Baba-Ahmed declared. “The best we can do is to improve opposition unity by supporting one or two candidates capable of defeating the APC in 2027.
“We are looking at all options. We know what we can do and what we cannot. What is unique about our current approach is that it is showing us the best way to strategize without losing our institutional integrity.”
Expressing confidence in the coalition’s potential, Baba-Ahmed insisted the PRP is not entering the 2027 race merely to make up numbers.
“We will adopt strategies that give a voice to women, young Nigerians, and beleaguered communities under constant attack from killers, kidnappers, and terrorists,” he said. “We are in this contest to win, and we have faith that Nigerians will choose wisely in 2027.”
