Duke says he would back opposition choice for 2027

Donald Duke, the Peoples Redemption Party’s presidential candidate, said he would accept an opposition coalition’s democratic choice of a stronger candidate for the 2027 election, while urging parties to agree on a shared national direction before deciding who should lead them.

Duke made the remarks Tuesday in Abuja at the unveiling of his running mate, Sule Mohammed, and the party’s manifesto. He said a coalition should involve more than sharing political positions and selecting a presidential candidate, and should establish what its members want to achieve for Nigeria. He said he would respect a collective decision and expected other contenders to do the same if another candidate were chosen.

The former Cross River governor referred to the presidential bids of Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress and Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, but said he did not want to prejudge coalition negotiations. He also cautioned against replacing the All Progressives Congress administration with a government that repeated what he described as its governance failures.

PRP National Chairman Hakeem Baba-Ahmed said the party was willing to consider supporting one or two...