By Adegboyega Adeleye
Research Professor at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, Prof. Femi Otubanjo, has said President Bola Tinubu has a stronger political record to campaign on ahead of the 2027 presidential election, while describing National Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate Peter Obi’s aspiration as largely representative of the South-East.
Otubanjo stated this in an interview with Arise News on Monday while assessing the chances of the major contenders and the likely influence of governors in the 2027 election.
According to him, Tinubu’s long political career and experience give him a record that voters can assess, unlike Obi, whose campaign, he argued, has not sufficiently presented a broader national proposition.
“Tinubu has a record by which you can go. Since 1978, Tinubu has been a force in Nigerian politics. He has created political parties. He has helped the president to win. He has become a president. He has introduced policies that are improving the economy,” he said.
On Obi, the presidential candidate of the NDC, Otubanjo said: “What is Obi selling beyond the fact that he represents the aspiration of the South-East? That is all.”
He added: “Obi’s aspiration is very strong. Yes, very good. He’s representing the South-East. But that’s all. He’s not presenting a case that would make Nigeria better. That’s what we need. And that’s what the people want to hear.”
On the wider 2027 contest, the professor predicted that the majority of governors supporting Tinubu would work for his victory, arguing that governors remain strategic assets because of their influence over state and local government structures and election mobilisation.
“Today Tinubu has 31 governors behind him,” he said, adding that the President had performed strongly in several states even when he did not have their governors’ backing in 2023.
Otubanjo, however, identified the South-East, Rivers, Oyo and some other areas as possible exceptions, saying governors should not be treated as a uniform bloc.
He also predicted that Tinubu would win Kaduna and most North-Central states, while cautioning that election outcomes remained speculative.
“Elections are not scientific,” he said. “It is something that you speculate about. You are looking at what happened before. You are looking at the present circumstances.”
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