A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Buba Galadima, has alleged that former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, is coordinating a seven-member opposition group working towards challenging President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Galadima made the allegation on Thursday, September 24, 2026, during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he discussed the opposition’s strategy ahead of the 2027 polls.
According to him, opposition parties can no longer legally combine behind a single candidate on the ballot because the relevant stage for such an arrangement has already passed.
“Technically, legally, other opposition parties cannot produce one single candidate on the ballot to face Tinubu. We have passed that stage,” Galadima said.
He instead proposed a strategy in which opposition parties would retain separate presidential candidates while potentially rallying their supporters behind one candidate close to election day if a consensus emerged over who could defeat Tinubu.
“So my idea has always been that we face Tinubu as a hydra-headed snail. And if, a day to the election, we are convinced that Mr A or Mr B is the person that can beat Tinubu, we can just tell our supporters… to vote for that single person,” he said.
Galadima then disclosed that he was allegedly part of a seven-member group of opposition figures coordinating around the strategy under Fayemi’s leadership.
“I am part of the group of the opposition candidates, seven of us meeting under the coordination of ex-Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State to try to work on that. And we are making progress,” he said.
Asked about the group’s objective, Galadima responded that it was focused on “defeating Tinubu.”
He also said he did not know Fayemi “to be an active member of the APC.”
However, Fayemi’s media team has rejected Galadima’s claim, describing it as untrue.
Julius Ogunro, a media aide to the former governor, told TheCable that there was no truth in the allegation and maintained that Fayemi remained committed to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ogunro also referenced a similar allegation made in August by Rotimi Amaechi, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, which Fayemi’s media office had previously denied.
At the time, Ahmad Sajoh, head of the Fayemi Media Office, described Amaechi’s claim as baseless and said Fayemi remained a committed APC member and leader in Ekiti State.
Fayemi served as governor of Ekiti State for two non-consecutive terms between 2010 and 2022 on the platform of the APC.
The latest exchange comes as opposition parties and political figures continue to explore various forms of cooperation ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with separate candidates already emerging across different platforms. Channels Television has reported that the formal presidential field includes candidates such as Tinubu of the APC, Atiku Abubakar of the ADC and Peter Obi of the NDC.
