Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and publisher of Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu, has said that former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi stand no chance of defeating President Bola Tinubu if they contest against him in the 2027 presidential election.
In a lengthy statement titled “2027: The Game Ahead”, Momodu described Nigeria as having “comfortably, voluntarily, and predictably, cruised, senselessly, into a one party State,” noting that both the Executive and Legislative arms were now firmly under the control of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Despite this, he maintained that he remained optimistic about the political future of the opposition, stressing that unity and strategy were essential to mount any real challenge against the incumbent government.
According to him, “Since TINUBU has already locked down the South of Nigeria, seemingly, the opposition must work speedily to lock down the North. With commonsense, this is feasible, even if difficult. I do not see any Southern candidate giving TINUBU any tough challenge. Not former President JONATHAN. Not former Governor PETER OBI. If they run, looking more like independent candidates, they will fail spectacularly.”
Momodu argued that the opposition must “first unite and decide to play the ethnic and religious cards too,” suggesting that they field “a formidable Northern Muslim candidate with a very popular Southern Christian running mate against TINUBU’s likely Muslim/Muslim ticket.”
He added that since the PDP, NNPP and Labour Party had “practically become orphans,” they should consider joining forces with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to “rekindle the magic that gave birth to APC in 2015.”
He stressed that “the game is not over but it requires candidates of absolute NECESSITY.”