Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser on Media and Policy to President Bola Tinubu, has cautioned Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, against running as a vice presidential candidate in the 2027 general election.
Bwala, speaking during an interview on Channels Television, said such a move would be a major political misstep for Obi and could alienate the vast support base he built during the 2023 elections, particularly among young Nigerians known as the “Obidients.”
He noted that Obi, who previously ran as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in 2019 before joining the Labour Party ahead of the 2023 polls, had inspired a powerful political movement that believes in his leadership potential and vision for Nigeria.
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“Accepting a vice presidential ticket would be his biggest mistake,” Bwala warned, adding that many of Obi’s loyal supporters would likely abandon him if he did so.
Bwala also remarked that, given the current political landscape, it would be extremely difficult for any candidate to defeat President Bola Tinubu in a future election.
He said, “Peter Obi will be making the biggest mistake of his life to now come together under the agreement he will be a running mate.
“Because all of the people you are hearing obidient had only one contract with Peter Obi that he will run for the President.
“The minute Peter Obi drops the idea of running for president himself, I can guarantee you he will lose the majority of the people that are following him.
“This is without taking away the fact that Peter Obi himself may not be comfortable in that arrangement.
“Let’s leave joke aside. Most of them are prodigies of Asho, a man who won election when all the forces were against him, will now lose election when he’s in power, when you have the opportunity to deliver on good governance, you have the opportunity to stretch your hand and make it a national consensus, as he’s doing.
“But those who are close watchers of events and activities and are not moved by emotions, will see signs that indicate that the coalition is dead on arrival.
“And what are those signs? Governors, on the platforms of their parties are joining us, senators are joining us, everywhere where they think they have those strong structures, the people are coming under the tutelage of President Bola Tinubu, because the President may not be perfect, he may make mistake, but one fact is clear, his head and his heart is right, and there is no no politician alive today that has political gravitas to gather people as much as the president. We are not bothered.”
