The lawmaker representing Abia South Senatorial District, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has declared that it would be impossible for President Bola Tinubu to secure re-election in the 2027 presidential election.
Abaribe, who claimed that Tinubu never legitimately won the 2023 election, argued that the current economic hardship facing Nigerians has strengthened their resolve to prevent the president from returning to power.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Abaribe responded to suggestions that Tinubu has never lost an election:
“I do not think so. Everybody loses elections, and you will see when the time comes. He will lose in 2027 because I know what Nigerians are feeling outside.”
He added: “Tinubu never won the 2023 election, and everybody knows it. But we said fine, he has been declared the winner, no problem. We acknowledge him as president, but we are going to meet him in the field, and I will see how he is going to cobble together what will make him win again. It won’t work because this time everybody will be ready. It will no longer be an announcement at 3 a.m. before people wake up in the morning. This time, people are ready, we are ready, and the masses are even more ready.”
Abaribe further criticized the administration, saying the economy has collapsed and that Tinubu has failed to address the country’s security challenges, questioning where the president would secure votes for a second term.
‘I’ll never defect to APC’
Reacting to defections of some opposition leaders to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abaribe vowed he would never join the wave. He said the defections would deepen internal divisions within the APC rather than strengthen it.
“If there is anybody who is going to defect to the APC, I think I should be the very, very last one. By the time I defect, it would mean there are no parties left in Nigeria, including the APC,” he said.
He added that the defections benefit the opposition by exposing internal problems within the APC:
“All the APC is doing is absorbing all the problems it is going to face; they are right inside the party now. Ask yourself, in all the states where there are defections, what is going on there now?”
The senator described the APC as a “giant with feet of clay,” warning that the opposition will target its vulnerabilities during the 2027 elections.
‘ADC not working for Atiku’
Reaffirming his commitment to the opposition coalition, Abaribe said there is a consensus among opposition leaders to unite to dislodge the APC from power.
The coalition has adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its platform for 2027. While some critics have suggested this move is intended to position Atiku Abubakar as the consensus candidate, Abaribe dismissed the claims:
“The party has yet to release its guidelines and other arrangements ahead of the 2027 elections.”
