Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, Senatorial District, Ireti Kingibe has said the 2027 general elections will extend beyond competition between political parties, describing it as a broader contest between the people and the ruling party.
The senator who is a member of the ADC made the remark while speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on democracy and political climate ahead of the polls.
“2027, regardless of parties, that’s why it’s an alliance, it’s the people versus the ruling party,” she declared.
Speaking further during the interview, Senator Kingibe cautioned that continued political exclusion and worsening economic hardship could heighten public frustration in Nigeria.
“What I’m trying to say is that the truth of the matter is that if things do not change, what is keeping everybody hanging on is this possibility of hope that maybe things can be different,” she warned.
She argued that efforts to weaken opposition forces undermine democratic principles, adding that widespread youth unemployment and poverty risk escalating national tensions if left unaddressed, potentially affecting all political actors regardless of affiliation.
“What I’m saying is that they’re trying to eliminate any major opposition party, and that’s the truth. You know it, I know it, everybody knows it. Secondly, talk about politicians. If this restive youth who have no future, nothing to look forward to, joblessness, hunger, everything… if we let them explode, I am sorry, APC, PDP, ADC, every ‘P’ would be put in one basket when the country explodes. And that’s the truth,” she maintained.
Senator Kingibe rejected claims of political alarmism, arguing that the ruling party’s concerns over opposition activity are misplaced if it is confident of electoral strength.
“For a government that claims to have all the governors with them, that claims they’re the best thing to have happened to this country, why should they care how many parties run against them, since they seem to be certain of landslide victory?”, she quizzed.
She maintained that party internal affairs are legally protected and pointed to court rulings and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) oversight as evidence that due process has been followed in party decisions and conventions, insisting that opposition realignments remain lawful and procedural.
“The courts have ruled several times that the internal workings of any party—leadership, details—is strictly the business of the party. They’ve ruled in lower courts, even Labor party, the Supreme Court has ruled on it. So how is it suddenly now an issue? Thirdly, NEC meetings must be witnessed by INEC. We had a NEC meeting in July, INEC was there, saw the NWC dissolved. We have letters, documentation from them to that effect. In March, they witnessed the next meeting putting in a new NWC,” she explained.
Speaking further, Kingibe said discussions around a unified opposition presidential candidate are still at a consensus stage, stressing the need for consolidation of votes ahead of 2027.
“The time has come where we are going to put aside, ‘Oh, my party’s going to get 2,000 votes and your party’s going to get 5,000 votes.’ No, we don’t want that. We want to consolidate all our support and our votes around one single presidential candidate,” she stressed.
The ADC member explained that any joint opposition arrangement would still produce a single presidential candidate from one party, with others expected to step down and offer support. She added that while a formal process for selection has not been agreed, discussions among opposition groups are focused on building consensus rather than multiple competing nominees.
“Obviously that presidential candidate must come from one party. Then all the others do not field and just support. We do that many times, even when it’s not an alliance per se. There’s no law that says a party must field candidates. They may field if they wish for any position, but it’s not mandatory that they do.
” I can’t say that that is necessarily going to be, but obviously the candidate must come from one party. It can’t be half from yours and half from mine. But it will be one set of candidates from a particular party. That’s what’s going to happen,” she noted.
Maintaining that opposition figures would ultimately reach consensus on a single candidate, Senator Kingibe said the urgency of the country’s challenges leaves little room for prolonged disagreement.
“Do not worry, we will agree on a candidate. You know, dire situations call for serious solutions. We will agree.
“The truth is that if there’s chaos in the whole country, it affects them just as much as anybody else. The truth is that they cannot fail to see how close to the brink we are.
Speaking on her call for the INEC chairman’s resignation, Senator Kingibe cited concerns over perceived bias, saying recent actions raised questions about neutrality despite earlier confidence in his independence.
“That particular chairman is already showing that he is not unbiased. Don’t get me wrong, I was one of the people who believed that he would, in spite of his inexperience, that he might make a good chairman, because I know him personally. But there’s so many things that are turning up. You witness everything. The courts had ruled previously when other interested persons had gone to court, the courts ruled that who the leaders of ADC are is not anybody’s business. Before you can even say Jack, he’s already de-registering them. Shows that there’s something underneath,” she alleged.
Calling for urgent amendments to the Electoral Act, she said key provisions being questioned were not part of the original reform agreement developed through joint legislative and stakeholder consultations. She argued that changes made to the final framework undermined earlier consensus aimed at strengthening credible and transparent elections.
“They were not in the original ones. I spoke to somebody about it. I said, I can show you the document I have. Since when, in what election have we ever conducted where INEC ballot papers did not have security measures that you can bring any type of ballot paper and vote with it? It’s never happened. And so when somebody was mentioning to me, I said ‘No, I didn’t see that part; it couldn’t have been there.’”
Defending the opposition alliance, Senator Kingibe said it includes individuals committed to the welfare of Nigerians, despite their varied political histories.
“There are a few people there that just because they’re supporting the party does not necessarily mean that they’re going to lead the party or lead government if it’s formed.”
Adding, she stressed that the coalition is not about rewarding past records but about restoring democratic balance, insisting that all citizens have a stake in the country and that both good and bad actors exist across all political parties, including the ruling party.
“Every Nigerian has a stake in Nigeria. All we are asking for is democracy, not a one-party state. Every Nigerian has a stake in Nigeria. Yes, there’s some bad ones, there’s some good ones in our party, just the same way this APC that’s oppressive to Nigerians and not caring and not empathic to their needs have good people in them as well as bad ones.”
According to the senator, the opposition alliance is driven by a shared commitment to protect democracy amid concerns about its current state.
“No, it’s not the desire to win power. The desire to save democracy is what binds the alliance. That’s the first thing. Second, because it’s not just for all these different parties to decide that let’s work together, it’s because they can see that our democracy is in great peril. That’s the first thing that binds the alliance: democracy,” she said.
She added that the alliance will keep fielding candidates to restore trust and strengthen democracy, noting Nigerians will continue pushing for better outcomes.
“Many who are willing to put aside personal interest for national interest. So we are going to go ahead and field candidates and try and save this democracy,” she maintained.
Acknowledging the financial advantage of the ruling party, Senator Kingibe said the opposition alliance is instead building strength through growing grassroots membership nationwide, which she described as a source of hope for Nigerians seeking change.
“We may not have the money that they have, and we know where their money came from, but structure—yes people are flooding into the party daily. Even if you just take the FCT, you would be amazed at the number of people that have joined that party in the last three, four months. To date, we had at least—the last time we checked—we had 3 million members, and daily more people are coming into the party. It gives Nigerians hope, and that is something that is very badly needed at this time,” she explained.
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