Olawale Ajimotokan
Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, has downplayed the threat of the opposition, bragging that President Bola Tinubu would easily breeze to victory in the 2027 presidential election.
Wike made the boast yesterday at a media briefing in relation to the just concluded Osun State governorship election, won by a candidate from a party different from the ruling party.
The minister derided the opposition as “crippled and depleted” insisting the Osun governorship elections depended on local variables, while a national election would altogether be a different ballgame.
“If it is this 2027 election against Bola Ahmed Tinubu, forget it. It’s over”, Wike said.
He rebuked the presidential candidates of the main opposition parties, Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Peter Obi of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for their internal divisions and poor performances in recent governorship polls.
He cited the influence of the G5 Governors in the 2023 election, noting that without such support, opposition figures stood little chance in national contests.
Wike also waved off insinuation that federal might was deployed in support of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Osun State election, saying those reinforcing that position had not experienced federal might in an election.
“They don’t know what federal might is. I think they should come and ask people like us who faced federal might in 2019. In Rivers State, in 2019, we saw what is called federal might. We saw soldiers taking over everywhere. Did anything like that happen in Osun State?”
Reflecting on past elections, Wike contrasted the current political climate with the 2023 general election, which he described as stressful and uncertain for the incumbent president.”
On the 2027 presidential election, he said, 2023 was a tough election for him, adding, “Nobody knew what the government at the time was trying to do, and even governors were afraid.
“But 2027 will be different. To remove a government, you need a strong, vibrant opposition that has spent over four years planning not one that is constantly looking for a party to join.”
He commended the Tinubu administration for allowing democratic processes to run naturally without undue interference.