By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA — The National Rescue Movement (NRM) has ruled out joining any political coalition or merging with another party ahead of the 2027 general elections, opting instead to go into the race on its own with a full slate of candidates, including a presidential flagbearer.
The decision pulls the party out of ongoing coalition calculations and adds to signs of a fractured opposition landscape ahead of 2027, where efforts to build a united front continue to falter.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, the party’s National Chairman, Prince Chinedu Obi, set out the position alongside National Secretary, Alhaji Hassan Aminu Ibrahim, and National Legal Adviser, Barrister Musa Isiaka.
“We’re not planning on merging with any political party or joining a coalition. We’ll produce our presidential candidate through the ballot,” Obi said.
The party also moved to shut down talk of internal divisions, saying recent court rulings have resolved disputes that once cast doubt on its leadership.
“The impression that the NRM is in crisis is false. There is no single crisis in the party,” he said.
Obi pointed to a ruling by the Federal High Court, presided over by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, which struck out an appeal filed by former All Progressives Grand Alliance chairman, Edozie Njoku, a case tied to the party’s earlier leadership dispute.
According to him, the judgment has helped steady the party and reinforced its leadership structure, easing concerns about factional infighting.
“Go to INEC website, you will never seen Njoku’s name there but that of the 14-member National Executive Committee under our leadership and the state chairmen of the party in the country,” he said.
Maintaining that Njoku was never a member of the NRM, Obi accused him of trying to take control of the party through what he described as forum shopping.
He also welcomed the court’s decision to strike out a contempt charge against the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, saying it clears the way for the party’s effective participation in the 2027 elections.
With the legal issues now behind it, the party is shifting focus to candidate selection, stressing that competence will guide its choices across elective positions.
Obi said, “We want Nigerians to know that the impression they have that the NRM has a crisis because of some individuals who are not even members of the party, that there’s no single crisis in NRM.
“There are still good political parties. The NRM is the one prepared to rescue Nigeria from the current situation.”
The party urged members nationwide to remain committed, expressing confidence that it is heading into the 2027 race more stable than several rivals still battling internal divisions.
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