2027 election will be easier for Tinubu than 2023 - Lere Olayinka

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Lere Olayinka, has said the 2027 presidential election will be easier for President Bola Tinubu than the 2023 poll, citing the president’s political alliances and his performance in governance.

Olayinka made the assertion during an interview on TVC Breakfast on Monday, where he argued that Tinubu had successfully drawn influential opposition figures closer to his administration.

According to him, the president’s political strategy had made the 2027 contest less challenging than the 2023 election.

“The reason this election of 2027 will be a one-way election is because of the performance of the president in terms of national development and his performance in terms of politics, because this election is going to be the easiest,” Olayinka said.

“It will be much easier for the president than the 2023 election. That is a fact that most people are not willing to accept.”

Olayinka specifically cited the role of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who remains a member of the PDP but has been working with the Tinubu administration.

He argued that Wike’s political influence could have been deployed to strengthen the PDP if he had not aligned himself with the president.

“If Wike was not working with the president, probably he would have been galvanizing more support for the PDP. Now he is not. The president has been able to bring him and other people to himself,” he said.

Olayinka also pointed to the political implications of opposition figures supporting different parties ahead of 2027, citing Abia State Governor Alex Otti and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke.

“Imagine Alex Otti also pushing Labour Party presidential candidate. Imagine Adeleke pushing Accord Party presidential candidate. Imagine Wike is pushing that of PDP,” he said.

He maintained that Tinubu’s willingness to work with people across political divides had eased the political environment for the president while simultaneously reducing the strength of opposition mobilisation.

“By being open, by bringing people to himself, he (Tinubu) has been able to make governance easier. He has also been able to make politics easier for himself,” Olayinka said.

Olayinka also urged Nigerians to acknowledge Wike’s support for Tinubu, despite the FCT minister remaining a member of the opposition PDP.