As Nigeria’s top opposition figures set to meet in Ibadan on August 18, 2026, one voice has been clear and consistent in defending it. Prof. Orji Nwafor-Orizu, President of the Society for the Advancement of Democracy, says the gathering is not a plot, but democracy. Here is why he believes it must happen, writes Our man, Nwamulu Namma. Read the excerpts.
The memo went out quietly. Date: August 18, 2026. Venue: Ibadan, Oyo State. Host: Governor Seyi Makinde. Agenda: 2027.
The names on the list are familiar. Peter Obi of the NDC. Atiku Abubakar of the ADC. Rabiu Kwankwaso also of the NDC. Also expected are Obi’s former running mate and a serving governor from the North-Central.
To critics, it looks like a merger of losers. To Pence Orji Nwafor-Orizu, President of the Society for the Advancement of Democracy (SAD), it looks like democracy working.
“I address you in my official capacity as National President of SAD,” he began at a press briefing in Abuja. “We have looked at it. Opposition is part of democracy.”
His first reason for support is historical. He reached back to the First Republic. Chief Obafemi Awolowo was Leader of Opposition. He had shadow ministers. “If a Minister for Works was talking, the shadow minister would research and say, ‘No, this is the correct way.’”
His second reason is global. “In the USA, UK and other developed nations of the world, this is allowed. Democrats become Republicans. Republicans become Democrats. They don’t fight over it.”
His third reason is Nigerian reality. “Here, if you are in opposition, you are treated as an enemy. That is wrong,” he said. For Nwafor-Orizu, criminalizing dissent weakens accountability.
The 2023 election gave him the numbers to argue with. Tinubu: 12 states. Atiku: 12 states, mostly North. Obi: 12 states, mostly South-East, South-South and FCT.
“The votes of the opposition moved together,” he noted. “The president is a minority. If those votes come together, there will be nothing for APC.” That math is why the Ibadan meeting is happening.
But Nwafor-Orizu is not naive. His fourth reason for supporting the meeting is to force honesty. “Each person must be honest to his electoral capacity.”
He asked the questions the politicians avoid. “How many votes can Obi get in North-East and North-West? 7%. How many can Atiku get in the South? He didn’t win one state there in 2023.”
His fifth reason is about purpose. “My problem is not opposition. My problem is what opposition is bringing to the table. Is it just to remove Tinubu? That does not advance democracy.”
He praised Obi for the model he wants to see. “He opposes things and gives suggestions. That is issue-based, not person-based. That is why nobody is arresting him.”
The sixth reason is sacrifice. He knows alliances require it. “When oppositions come together, one must step down. Stepping down is not the worst.”
He was frank about the protocol problem. “It will be difficult to ask Atiku to be VP to Obi.” But he insists the leaders must “check between both of them and back one presidential candidate.”
The presence of Governor Makinde and Kwankwaso strengthens his case. Makinde brings South-West structure. Kwankwaso brings Kano. Without them, he argues, any talk of “national opposition” is empty.
In the end, Nwafor-Orizu’s support comes down to one belief: democracy needs a viable alternative. “The opposition must show us what they want to do for Nigeria. If they do, and they are realistic with their electoral value, then the meeting in Ibadan is not just democratic. It is necessary.”
