Ahead of the 2027 election, President Bola Tinubu’s increased footprint might have impeded the inroads being made by the opposition coalition led by former vice president Atiku Abubakar.
This comes as political leaders from the South-South region are poised to drive Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign following the massive defections from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
But the Atiku-led coalition has insisted that the events of recent weeks have not shaken their resolve, adding that the 2027 election remains a contest between Nigerians and the Tinubu-led APC.
LEADERSHIP had exclusively reported how the Atiku-led coalition had begun penetrating the Niger Delta region following the outburst that trailed the state of emergency declaration in Rivers State which led to the suspension of the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the State Assembly.
It was learnt that the coalition’s leadership reached out to prominent Ijaw politicians about working together to oust the present government in 2027.
It was learnt that two former heads of the Presidential Amnesty Programme were contacted, and they, in turn, contacted some political leaders of the Ijaw ethnic nationality to join the coalition against President Tinubu.
It was further learnt that the duo of former PAP heads had already been appointed to the Atiku-led coalition’s contact and mobilisation committee.
Others enlisted in the conversation are prominent former agitators who dropped their arms in 2009 under the late president, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
It was gathered that three of these ex-militant leaders had been assigned the responsibility of mobilising for the coalition in Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo and Ondo states, respectively.
However, in what could pass for a countermove, the pro-Tinubu elements in the region upped their game by flagging off campaign organisations.
This is coupled with the recent collapse of PDP structures in Delta State following the defection of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and Atiku’s presidential running mate in 2023, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.
Akwa Ibom State governor, Umo Eno (a PDP governor), has declared support for Tinubu’s return in 2027.
Akwa Ibom and Delta states were strategic bases for PDP and Atiku in 2019 and 2023.
A source told LEADERSHIP that governors and ministers from the South-South region are “going to spearhead Tinubu’s second term mandate. The catch, however, is that they are not waiting to be funded. They are going to do it themselves.”
It was also gathered that High Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, otherwise known as Tompolo, has intensified his campaign for Tinubu’s reelection.
“As grand patron of the PBAT Door-2-Door Movement 2027, Tompolo will coordinate the Ijaw nation and the broader South South region,” a source said.
It was also learnt that a close associate of Tompolo from Warri in Delta State will fund the project.
Tinubu’s recent visit to Anambra State in the South East also saw a groundswell of endorsements for his second term.
Ahead of the visit, APC leaders in the South East had met in Enugu to forge a united front in the push to deliver a far better outing for Tinubu in 2027.
LEADERSHIP recalls that Tinubu had scored poorly in the region, with Labour Party Candidate Peter Obi winning massively in the region.
However, reacting to President Tinubu’s inroads in the South-South, Atiku’s media team dismissed the Tinubu team’s inroads in the region.
Atiku’s spokesman, Paul Ibe, told LEADERSHIP that the defections in the region are of no significance, adding that the 2027 election is between Nigerians and the Tinubu-led APC.
He also described the defectors as being political hostages whose ransom is paid by moving over to the ruling pary.
“This election will be between Nigerians and the Tinubu-led APC.
“Nigerians are at the centre of the engine driving the coalition. That is how intentional they are about reclaiming the country from the marauding APC government.
“And so if Nigerians are at the heart of the coalition, it tells you how difficult it will be to derail it. Those who have defected are paying political ransom because the APC has kidnapped them. There is nothing palatable about the defections. They have been held hostage.”
He stated, however, that the defections have profound implications for democracy in the country.
“So we won’t have a plurality of options and ideas, which is bad for democracy,” he said even as he lamented that a result the defections the anti-corruption war is dying down because some of those who moved did so because of their corruption cases.
‘So what we are witnessing is the burying of the anti-graft agencies, which poses a danger to our democracy,” he said. “In all, we are unfazed by the spate of defections. It won’t affect the coalition.”
For his part, a key Atiku aide and loyalist, Hon Ola Fabiyi, said, “The difference between what Tinubu is doing and what Atiku does in their respective strategies for 2027 is that Tinubu is building an elite base structure while Atiku and his partners in the coalition are building a people-structured political system.
“Therefore, nothing in Tinubu’s plan will hurt anyone but himself.
“President Tinubu has shown that he’s not a political maverick as being portrayed. Don’t forget that he supposedly controversially won the 2023 election. And, like the popular saying goes, cheat me once, shame on you…Nobody will allow him to do what he did in 2023 again in 2027.
“He knows he is running out of steam in governance and party politics. He continues to lose the appeal of everyday Nigerians, and his party members also understand that the APC that he inherited in 2023 is no longer what the APC is today.
“Nigerians eagerly anticipate the coalition party to come to fruition. Everyone is tired of the APC, and it does not matter if Tinubu decides to stock up with old, flabby politicians. The people, especially the youth, are behind the coalition process; that is all that matters now.”
Fabiyi dismissed the show of support to the president in the South South, saying it will not count for much.
“Perhaps, Tinubu has forgotten that what he and APC have embarked upon was what killed the NPC in the First Republic, the NPN in the Second Republic, and the PDP in this republic.
“As far as I am concerned, the inroad is not a significant threat to the coalition.
“The coalition has the full backing of Nigerians, and the APC is beginning to feel the heat, hence all the sponsored propaganda and attacks that prevent it from being successful,” he said.
Patience Jonathan pledges to work for Tinubu in 2027
Meanwhile, former First Lady Patience Jonathan has dispelled insinuations about her ambition to return to the Aso Rock Villa in 2027.
Speaking at an event in Abuja on Saturday, Patience pledged support for Remi Tinubu, the incumbent first lady, to return to the office after the 2027 elections.
Patience is the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan who held office from 2010 to 2015.
There have been reports that Jonathan might be in the race for the presidency again in 2027.
Patience said she would campaign for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election because the first lady is a “friend.”
“I believe in one president. I believe in turn-by-turn. When it’s your turn, I will support you. When it’s not your turn, step back so the country can move forward,” the former first lady said.
“I didn’t just know her (Senator Oluremi Tinubu) just because she’s the First Lady. We worked together. We worked as a group.
“We worked when I was a deputy governor’s wife. We worked when I was the governor’s wife. I know her. I talked with Oluremi. Even when my husband was the vice president, Oluremi stood with her husband and supported us during our first election. They supported us. So, for me, I have a conscience. I cannot abandon my friend, whether you like it or not.
“Because, you see, this is turn by turn. Today (if it) is my turn—I will go. Tomorrow, it will be another person’s turn
“I stand by my friend. My friend is great. I told her I would campaign with her. I’m not denying her. I’m not running. I’m not going back to the Villa. If you call me, I will not go.
“I say it every day. Don’t you like how young I look? People say, ‘Mama, you are young, you are young!’ It is because I have rest of mind, yes. I don’t want to go there — let my friend be there. Let me also ‘wahala’ her how she used to ‘wahala’ me when I was there!”
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