By our reporter
The Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has declared that no political figure in Nigeria currently possesses the capacity to unseat the president in the 2027 general election.
Speaking on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Bwala asserted that prominent opposition figures — including former Anambra State governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi — stand little chance of securing major party tickets, let alone defeating Tinubu at the polls.
According to Bwala, Obi, who emerged second in the 2023 presidential election with 6,101,533 votes behind Tinubu’s 8,794,726, will likely be sidelined in 2027 and could even be relegated to a vice-presidential slot. He ruled out the possibility of Obi clinching the presidential ticket of the Labour Party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
I have seen the political climate in Nigeria today, and I will speak to facts, not conjectures. There’s not a single politician who has the capacity to knock off President Bola Tinubu on all fronts, Bwala said.
With the presidential election less than two years away, political repositioning among opposition heavyweights has intensified. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Senate President David Mark are reportedly exploring alliances and strategies to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Amid these moves, some political groups have called on former President Goodluck Jonathan to join the race. Although Jonathan has not publicly declared his intentions, Bwala cautioned him against making a political comeback.
The presidential aide argued that Jonathan has built a strong international reputation since leaving office in 2015 — a standing he risks losing if he returns to partisan politics. He also warned that many of the northern political figures urging Jonathan to run again were the same individuals who opposed him a decade ago.
Some unscrupulous elements are trying to hoodwink former President Goodluck Jonathan to come into politics so they can destroy the reputation he has been building after he left government by becoming an international figure globally. The elements that are going to him in the North, asking him to come and run, were they not the ones that chased him away? What hope does he have that this time round, they are calling him because they mean well for him?” Bwala questioned.
Bwala maintained that Tinubu’s extensive political network, spanning both northern and southern Nigeria, places him in a dominant position heading into 2027.
