The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines Coalition as-a temporary alliance for combined action, especially of political parties forming a government. In this regard, Coalition has been used in Nigeria since the attainment of independence. After indepedence the major parties that contested pre-independence election for offices on party politics basis to capture power especially at the centre had to enter into a coalition if sort when none of the parties had majority in the House to form a government at the centre. That ovcured between the then Northern Peoples Congress,NPC and the NCNC led by rt Hon Dr Nnamdi Azikwe to control the nation’s affairs. Again in 1964,the first post independence coalition was formed by the combination of the then ruling party,the NPC led by then Premier of Northern region,Sir Ahmadu Bello who had Prime Minister, Tafawa Balewa as his voice in the National Assembly and the breakaway faction of the Action Group led by late Premier of the region,Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola,the Nigerian National Democratic Party,NNDP otherwise known as ‘Demo’. It also had fringe parties from minority parties in the Eastern region. The opposition also formed the United Progressives Grand Alliance, UPGA with members of the Obafemi Awolowo led AG..he was then in prison for treasonable felony. The UPGA had as members fringe Nothern minority parties like the Joseph Tarka led United Middle Belt Congress and the Northern Element Progressives Union-NEPU. It should be noted that Coalition and alliances among parties then was inevitable as non of the three leading parties could get enough members to form government in the House of Representatives. It should also be noted that this singular factor laid the foundation of instability of the first republic as the three dominant and ethnic cum regional parties-the NPC,AG and NCNC was strong enough to have broad- based national appeal, hence the need for either two of the trio to join together to form a government. It is instructive to note that this has been the cause of instability in the country as each of the dominant ethnic- based parties and leaders held on to their regions. Desperation of the NPC led NNA alliance to win the Western Region election by all means led to UPGA leading a boycott of the election held in December 1964 with the NPC taking the upper hand. The then government of Balewa led NNA could not contain the violence which greeted the outcome of the supplementary elections held in March 1965 and unfolding events which led to the fall of the first republic. Since then alliances and Coalition have had little or no impact especially since the introduction of Presidential system of government in the second and third republic with its winner takes all nature. It is against this background that the decision of the eleven governors of the main opposition party,the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, in Ibadan,Oyo State last Monday April 14,not to join any Coalition for the purpose of winning the 2027 presidential elections comes into focus and their capacity to defeat the ruling All Peoples Congress,APC. In today’s politics,state governors not only control the parties but remain the key source of funding of elections especially with an opposition that has no control of the Federal purse. Today, former governor of Delta state, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa is undergoing EFCC trial for allegedly turning -up the purse of the states trillions of naira to fund the 2023 Presidential campaign of former vice president Atiku Abubakar. Beside that, it would appear that issue of survival and personal ambition by both aspirants and sitting governors may be a hindrance to the ability of the leading opposition party to defeat the incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu -led federal government. Atiku’s proposition of a coalition have not resonated with the eleven governors for reasons that some of them especially those with Presidential ambition may be reluctant to yield their ambition to Atiku. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives and immediate former governor of Sokoto state, Aminu Tambuwal did in 2023 and today may have regretted the aState, Would he do same in 2027 for 81 years old Atiku. Since Atiku and former President Olusegun Obasanjo have individually expressed support for the birth of a coalition which they agreed is necessary if the APC controlled federal government is to be defeated. In this instance,the ability of parties to agree on position sharing especially where the presidency is zoned is crucial. If Bode George,an unrepentant former deputy chairman and Board of trustee member of PDP is saying that presidency cannot return to the North in 2027 and pointedly and publicly cautioned Atiku, does it not infer that Atikus candidature may not be acceptable to other leaders of the party and by extension the NEC. With the benefit of hindsight, it is reasonable and understandable for Atiku who now has with him,El Rufai, former Minister and Kaduna state governor, to rely on influences beyond the governors to push the PDP into a coalition. Even then,Atiku, till today has not ruled out the possibility of an Atiku and Peter Obi ticket but this is only feasible if the party work together with Obis LP. In this instance,LP today also has her leadership bogged down by divisive tendencies tearing it apart. Coul it be able to resolvebits internal wrangling with Julius Abure faction . The PDP is facing same threat with suspended former scribe Anyanwu still laying claim to the seat relying on the Supreme Court judgement . It is not impossible that he has some top party chieftains behind him. Although, El Rufai has repeatedly denied move to return to the PDP under which he served as FCT Minister, his romance with Atiku is to build a power block such that should Obi decide to rail -road LP into the Social Democratic Party, SDP. It is debatable if this could secure them the party ticket now. It was an idea which many believed could have fetched them the Presidency in 2023. But then,is it feasible for the PDP -a party founded in 1998 and with 11 governors to agree to share power with both LP and SDP which had only one state between them? Sule Lamido, former Jigawa state governor believes it is an insult for him, a founding PDP member to join SDP with no single state and he told El Rufai publicly so. In the South East,beside Abia state with Governor Otti in the saddle, other southeast states are being ruled by APC,APGA and PDP with two states . For now, El Rufai’s influence in Kaduna state where he was governor for eight bloody years remains shaky with the people of Southern Kaduna coming out boldly to assert their independence from him and the Fulani domineering influence. It is also doubtful whether the SDP can get a foothold just as it is difficult for both NNPP and PDP to retain their Influence in both Kaduna and Kano states-two dominant North West states. With the schism in the LP and its tottering leadership, could they go into the coalition with one undivided house since politics is a game of numbers. PDP governors individually have their aspirations and if today,the political pendulum of political elite in the North swings away from APC, PDP alone stand a better chance as their is no possibility that Musa Kwakwanso’s NNPP could muster enough structures to mobilise to neutralize the PDP in the nineteen Northern states neither is it feasible for LP to still retain the support it enjoyed during the 2023 Presidential election since Obi was the rallying force . Today, some senators led by Ned Nwoko has jumped ship to the APC in the South East with other house of representative members. With two states,Imo and Ebonyi in APCs hand and APGA in Anambra state with Soludo not a commited ‘Obedient’, it is doubtful if there can be a repeat performance of the feat achieved by LP in region in 2023 in the forthcoming 2027 elections especially with the defections. With the above, it is clear that only an outright merger can dislodge the ruling party. With the experience of the AD/ANPP alliance in 1999 which gave the then PDP a serious challenge, it is doubtful whether anything short of outright merger consummated early enough by all the different tendencies in the opposition and smaller parties can do the magic. In 2012,when the then nine progressive governors met under the aegis of the Progressive Governors Forum in Lagos to start the process of consumption a merger,it was to form a new party where all the various aggrieved parties came together with then Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola as host and arrowhead. With then former Governor now President Tinubu as mobiliser and power behind the scene, he was able to successfully negotiate a new party where both ACN,ANPP, and CPC faction with aggrieved PDP governors of which Badaru and Bukola Saraki were the motivator. Their strength lies in the fact that they all moved into the new party,the APC with their followers. This is strategic and fundamental. In politics,strategy and visionary planning are crucial to pursuing same goal to take power. That within two years,the nine governors were able to sink their differences and move their various tendencies into a brand new party speaks volume of work needed to be done by any opposition to defeat a ruling government today with twenty two states in its fold. The birth and consumation of APC no doubt redefined history of coalition and alliances in Nigeria and it helped to give influence and power to a new party even though they are different bed- fellows but sank differences to seek and eventually got power which is the essence of party politics. Could the PDP governors who declared through Bauchi State governor,Mohammed, Bello they need no coalition rebuild the fledgling party leadship bogged down by ego and ambition outside their eleven states to give formidable challenge to the ruling APC?. Could El Rufai, Obi and Atiku divide the ranks of PDP governors to give flesh to SDP which structures today remains unknown in most of the states? Would the ‘Obedient’ movement follow Obi to either back to the PDP or endorse an outright movement of LP into the SDP.? Even with one state, LP is stronger than the SDP being resuscitated to create a new platform for El Rufai,Atiku,Obi at a time when influentual Northern political elites like Shekarau, Lamido, Shehu Sanni and a host of others are not too keen on burying the PDP. Even at that, two years is not enough to consumate an outright merger of the opposition parties whose leaders must jettison their ambition for the party to gather internal strength to unite and fight the incumbent government. It is a fact that none of the small parties can muster enough resources to swallow the PDP in a coalition or even a new party which to me is more desirable if the smaller parties cannot coalesce into the PDP. In all,time and chance are crucial for gathering strength to change the status quo. Except a miracle happens, the opposition parties may have lost the fight for 2027 before it ever started due to ego,ambition and lack of collective resolve to pursue a common goal. These attributes are important to defeat a ruling federal government.