The Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lere Olayinka, has said President Bola Tinubu’s growing political alliances could make it increasingly difficult for opposition parties to mount a formidable challenge in the 2027 presidential election.
Olayinka, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made the assertion while speaking on TVC Breakfast on Monday.
According to him, Tinubu’s strategy of working with influential politicians across party lines has altered the political landscape ahead of the next presidential election.
He argued that the President’s ability to attract prominent opposition figures into his administration had weakened the capacity of rival political parties to mobilise a coordinated campaign against the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Olayinka particularly pointed to the continued involvement of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike in the Tinubu administration, despite Wike remaining a member of the PDP.
He said Wike’s collaboration with Tinubu had affected the PDP’s ability to utilise the former Rivers State governor as a major opposition mobiliser.
“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,” Olayinka said.
The PDP chieftain also highlighted what he described as conflicting political interests among opposition governors and politicians as another challenge that could affect the opposition ahead of 2027.
He cited Abia State Governor Alex Otti and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, arguing that different political alignments could prevent opposition parties from presenting a united front.
“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.
Olayinka maintained that the development could give Tinubu a significant political advantage in 2027, particularly if opposition parties fail to resolve their internal differences and establish a common strategy.
He described the President’s political approach as one that has made governance and political mobilisation easier for his administration.
“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.
He added that while political alliances do not automatically guarantee electoral victory, the inability of opposition parties to coordinate their political structures could prove costly when Nigerians go to the polls in 2027.
