Tinubu Will Crush Rivals by Wider Margin in 2027 — Presidency

By Yinka Giwa
The Presidency has predicted a significantly bigger victory for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, arguing that the political odds that complicated his path to power in 2023 have dramatically shifted in his favour.

Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, said Tinubu would defeat his challengers by margins far wider than those recorded in the last presidential election, citing the President’s expanding political coalition and growing support among governors across the country.

Speaking on Channels Television on Wednesday, Bwala said Tinubu achieved his 2023 victory despite formidable obstacles, including what he described as a lack of wholehearted support from elements within the then governing All Progressives Congress.

“The governing party at that time, it was clear that they were not working for him,” Bwala said.

“In the real sense of the word, there were policies that were reeled out just before the election that were quite damning to him.”

He said some governors were also allegedly unenthusiastic about Tinubu’s candidacy, compounding the difficulties he faced going into the election.

According to Bwala, Tinubu had confronted similarly difficult circumstances during the APC presidential primary, where he faced stiff opposition before eventually securing the party’s ticket.

“The odds were against him, even at the primary level. He could have been rigged out,” he said.

Despite those obstacles, Tinubu emerged victorious in the February 2023 presidential election, defeating Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party in a closely fought contest.

Bwala argued that the political configuration ahead of 2027 was markedly different, with Tinubu now enjoying the advantages of incumbency and the support of an expanded network of governors and political structures.

He pointed particularly to gains in the North-East and the number of governors now aligned with the President, arguing that governors wield substantial influence over political mobilisation and party structures in their states.

“President Bola Tinubu has got how many governors on his side? How many governors have joined him?” Bwala asked.

“The governors are Chief Executive Officers of their respective states; they coordinate the structures of the state and won their election to be governors.”

Bwala said the combination of Tinubu’s strengthened political base and the expansion of his support across the states would translate into a considerably larger electoral advantage in 2027.

He consequently made a categorical prediction that Tinubu would defeat each of his major challengers by margins that could surprise political observers.

“Let me tell you and let me say it categorically, and I will be happy to come back, the gap that President Bola Tinubu will give each and every one of these candidates will be so much that you won’t believe it,” Bwala declared.

He maintained that if Tinubu could prevail in 2023 when significant political forces and circumstances were stacked against him, the President was entering the 2027 contest from a substantially stronger position.