A prominent figure in the opposition coalition and member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, has suggested that President Bola Tinubu is poised for re-electionrw in 2027 if the opposition fails to adopt a strategic approach in selecting its presidential flag bearer.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Okonkwo emphasized that fielding another southern candidate like Peter Obi—Tinubu’s fellow southerner—would only ease the President’s path to victory.
Instead, he proposed that the coalition should rally behind a strong northern contender with wide acceptability across the region.
READ ALSO: Kenneth Okonkwo accuses Peter Obi of betrayal, poor leadership
“My strategy this time around is that I am going to support a northerner in 2027,” Okonkwo stated. “It must be a northerner that the whole north is willing to support. If the whole north is willing to support an Atiku, why not? If the whole north is willing to support a Tambuwal, why not? The person must be qualified, and if he has experience in the presidency, it is an added advantage, and when he puts up something from the south, that will push him through.”
Okonkwo, who once served as a spokesperson for Peter Obi during the 2023 presidential campaign, severed ties with the Labour Party in July 2024, citing internal party crises and Obi’s failure to resolve them.
Tinubu, who clinched the presidency in the 2023 election after defeating his main challengers—Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi—officially began his term in May of that year. His candidacy in 2027 seeks to maintain the informal north-south power rotation that has shaped Nigeria’s political landscape since the return to democratic rule.
Prior to Tinubu’s administration, former President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner from Katsina State, served two consecutive terms from 2015 to 2023.During the interview, Okonkwo launched a scathing attack on Tinubu’s leadership, describing it as “incurably bad” and calling for a strategic end to his presidency.
“Anybody telling you it’s injustice if the north comes in, if the south comes in, and whoever wins in a primary election will take it for four years. Where is the injustice? It has happened before,” he argued.
He further cautioned against the opposition fielding another southerner against Tinubu, warning that such a move would hand an easy win to the incumbent.
“Anybody telling you to bring a fresh southerner to compete against Tinubu, a southerner, is trying to tell you to zone the ticket to Tinubu and Tinubu will win outright,” he said.
Okonkwo argued that only a northern candidate could realistically challenge Tinubu’s hold on power and withstand systemic efforts to overturn a potential opposition victory.
“If you bring somebody from the Southeast, even if he wins, they will steal it from him. Let me tell you the strategy that will make the Southeast man to be president. Do you know the South-West has never contested an election against an incumbent? Strategy? Because they know that in Nigeria, if you don’t have the establishment supporting you, even if you win, they will steal it from you.”
“Peter Obi won the election in 2023, and they stole it from us. If you do it again, they will steal it from him because there is no incumbent to back you, but if you bring somebody from the north, nobody will prevail on him to leave his victory because he is not from the same side as you,” he said.
As Nigeria inches closer to the 2027 general election, discussions surrounding a grand political alliance reached a significant milestone on Wednesday, July 2, 2025.
On that day, several influential opposition leaders—including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, former Senate President David Mark, former governors Nasir El-Rufai and Rotimi Amaechi, and ex-minister Rauf Aregbesola—converged under the ADC platform with the goal of forming a united front to unseat President Tinubu.
The proposed coalition is drawing confidence from the results of the 2023 presidential election, in which Atiku and Obi, representing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party respectively, collectively amassed over 12 million votes.
This figure was more than four million votes higher than the total declared for Tinubu, who was announced winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Beyond political arithmetic, the coalition leaders accuse Tinubu’s administration of gross mismanagement, pointing to spiraling inflation and soaring living costs as key indicators of governance failure.
With their renewed alignment under the ADC, they aim to present a unified political force capable of mounting a credible and successful challenge to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.
, Kenneth Okonkwo, has suggested that President Bola Tinubu is poised for re-electionrw in 2027 if the opposition fails to adopt a strategic approach in selecting its presidential flag bearer.){kind=link}