Baba-Ahmed opposition warning highlights court cases, factional disputes and candidate uncertainty facing Nigeria’s opposition ahead of 2027
Peoples Redemption Party National Chairman Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed has warned opposition parties to remain vigilant ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, saying unresolved court cases, factional disputes and questions over candidate eligibility could disrupt their preparations.
Also read: Amaechi Says ADC Leaders Could Retire if APC Wins 2027
Hakeem Baba-Ahmed made the remarks during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Wednesday, arguing that opposition parties had learnt from recent political disputes that legal and organisational challenges could become as important as campaigning itself.
“The APC is not innocent when it comes to playing dirty. We, the opposition, don’t sleep with both eyes closed,” Hakeem Baba-Ahmed said.
He claimed that between five and six of about eight or nine parties involved in the emerging opposition coalition were facing court cases, while some were also dealing with competing factions.
“Some have been factionalised, and at this point, we don’t know if some candidates will be on the ballot or not,” he said.
The PRP chairman said the uncertainty had forced opposition parties to pay closer attention to the legal standing of their candidates and internal party structures before the election.
“Too many political parties in the opposition are limping from legal issues and factionalisation. Which faction is going to be there?” Hakeem Baba-Ahmed asked.
He said the experience had influenced the PRP’s approach to selecting candidates and preparing for the election.
“It was better to put forward only a candidate we are sure can survive all the legal hurdles. So, we think these issues are behind us now,” he said.
The remarks come against a wider backdrop of legal disputes that have affected several opposition platforms during preparations for the 2027 election.
In June, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed warned that opposition parties were operating in an environment where they could not assume their organisational positions were secure.
He said the concern extended across the opposition, while describing the APC as an exception.
The concern over court cases has also featured prominently in discussions about the emerging opposition coalition.
At an opposition summit in Abuja in August, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed said no opposition party could honestly claim that it could defeat the APC alone.
He argued that parties needed to pool their resources and work together rather than rely on individual political structures.
The coalition discussions have brought together several opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress, Allied Peoples Movement, Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, PRP and Social Democratic Party.
Hakeem Baba-Ahmed has nevertheless stressed that cooperation should involve more than simply combining parties for electoral purposes.
In September, he said the PRP was prepared to participate in the emerging opposition arrangement but would not abandon its ideology, identity or core principles.
The PRP chairman said the coalition needed a clear programme addressing insecurity, poverty and national divisions and should offer Nigerians a defined political alternative rather than simply seek to replace the APC-led administration.
That position adds another layer to the coalition negotiations.
Opposition parties are not only attempting to resolve questions of candidates and electoral strategy, but are also trying to determine how different political identities and policy positions can coexist within one broader arrangement.
Legal certainty remains particularly important because party leadership disputes can have direct consequences for candidates.
In July, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed urged the judiciary to resolve disputes involving opposition parties fairly, arguing that the credibility of the 2027 elections mattered more than the eventual number of parties appearing on the ballot.
“If one or two are unable to field candidates for 2027, others will,” he said at the time, while calling for credible, free and fair elections.
The PRP has itself experienced internal tensions during the period of opposition realignment.
In April, a rival group challenged the leadership that emerged from the party’s national convention.
The dispute prompted accusations from the African Democratic Congress that the APC was contributing to divisions within opposition parties.
The APC has denied involvement in such internal crises.
Those developments help explain Hakeem Baba-Ahmed’s emphasis on legal preparedness.
For opposition parties, a candidate’s popularity or campaign organisation may ultimately prove insufficient if internal disputes prevent a valid nomination or trigger prolonged litigation.
Hakeem Baba-Ahmed has also argued that the opposition faces a broader structural challenge because of the resources, incumbency and political networks available to the ruling APC.
In his latest interview, he said opposition parties needed to protect one another and strengthen their collective capacity rather than assume that any single platform could carry the contest alone.
Arise News reported that he described the purpose of the coalition as improving the opposition’s capacity to challenge the APC in 2027.
He also questioned the value of large political rallies as a direct measure of electoral support.
According to Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, rallies can attract crowds without necessarily translating into votes.
He argued that the economic and security experiences of Nigerians over the past three years would be more relevant to voters when they eventually make their choices.
His assessment reflects one of the central uncertainties of the 2027 contest: whether opposition parties can convert their national-level alliances into durable structures capable of operating across wards and local government areas.
The PRP chairman has previously argued that opposition cooperation must also provide a convincing policy alternative.
In September, he said the coalition should tell Nigerians what it stood for beyond replacing the APC government, particularly on insecurity, poverty and national divisions.
He also said the PRP would withdraw from an arrangement if its policies or strategy conflicted with the party’s core principles.
The debate is unfolding as opposition parties continue to negotiate their roles ahead of the 2027 presidential and legislative elections.
For Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, the immediate lesson from recent political disputes is that opposition parties cannot afford to treat legal and organisational questions as secondary matters.
His warning therefore goes beyond campaign strategy.
It highlights a more fundamental concern of opposition parties to resolve factional disputes, settle court cases and agree on for opposition parties: ensuring that the structures, candidates and alliances assembled before the election remain legally and politically intact when voters eventually go to the polls.
With the 2027 contest approaching, the ability of opposition parties to resolve factional disputes, settle court cases and agree on credible candidates could prove as consequential to their preparations as rallies, fundraising and grassroots mobilisation.
For now, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed’s message is one of caution.
Also read: Amaechi Says ADC Leaders Could Retire if APC Wins 2027
The opposition coalition may be growing, but its leaders still face the painstaking task of turning cooperation into a stable electoral structure capable of surviving the legal and political pressures that accompany a major national contest.
