National Chairman of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Bishop Amakiri, has dismissed the credibility of the newly formed opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections, claiming that the majority of its leaders are responsible for Nigeria’s current political and governance challenges.
Appearing on The Morning Brief, a Channels Television programme on Monday, Amakiri criticised the coalition which includes political heavyweights such as Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi, and others, arguing that many of them lack the moral authority to champion any meaningful change.
“I have a problem, and it is whether 85 per cent of people in that coalition have the moral justification to tell us about a coalition that will liberate the Nigerian people from the political leadership quagmire we find ourselves in,” Amakiri stated.
The coalition recently met in Abuja, endorsing the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its political platform, with former Senate President David Mark and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola emerging as interim chairman and secretary, respectively.
Amakiri did not hold back in his criticism of the coalition’s makeup and motivations. He described the alliance as a recycled assembly of politicians who had been tried and tested—and found wanting.
“You can’t have a gathering of over 85 per cent of persons who have been given the opportunity to lead this country before – and where have they taken the country to? Abysmal failure,” he said.
Labeling the coalition as a group of “political power mongers,” the YPP chairman argued that the move appears to be more about personal ambition than genuine reform.
“They are just political power mongers trying to advance their interests,” he added.
Amakiri also drew parallels between the current coalition and the 2015 political merger that gave rise to the All Progressives Congress (APC), suggesting that history was simply repeating itself with no real commitment to change.
“It’s the same thing they did in 2015 when they just wanted to kick out a president who was doing very okay,” he remarked.
Responding to speculation that some members of the YPP had joined the coalition, Amakiri made clear that the party’s current priority is not the presidency, but increasing its legislative presence.
“We are not in a hurry to produce a president. Our major ambition is to take over the parliament,” he said.
The controversial Abuja meeting that sparked Amakiri’s comments brought together politicians from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), and the ADC, all positioning themselves as a united front to challenge the ruling APC in 2027.
