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The National Chairman of the People’s Redemption Party, PRP, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has said President Bola Tinubu can be defeated in the 2027 presidential election despite the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, controlling a majority of state governments and seats in the National Assembly.
Mr Baba-Ahmed said Tinubu would be defeated before 4pm on election day if Nigerians were allowed to vote in a credible, free and fair election.
He stated this while featuring on a Channels Television programme on Wednesday, where he cited the outcome of the recent Osun State governorship election as evidence that the APC remained vulnerable despite its political dominance.
According to him, the Osun election demonstrated that the ruling party could be defeated when votes were allowed to determine the outcome of an election.
“APC was trounced in Osun. We didn’t even see a coalition or collaboration or a gang-up against the APC. Parties all competed against one another. Yet, APC was defeated,” he said.
Mr Baba-Ahmed argued that the Osun outcome should serve as a warning to the APC ahead of the 2027 presidential election, stressing that what happened in the state could be replicated at the national level.
“There’s no reason why this cannot repeat itself at a national level,” he said.
The PRP chairman also dismissed suggestions that the outcome of the Osun election was the result of an understanding between Tinubu and Governor Ademola Adeleke.
He maintained that his assessment was based on the ability of voters to defeat a ruling party through the ballot when elections are credible.
Baba-Ahmed also launched a scathing attack on the internal workings of the APC, describing the ruling party in unusually harsh terms.
“APC is not a party. It is a monster eating itself up and eating everybody up,” he said.
He further criticised what he described as the concentration of political power around the presidency, despite the APC’s commanding position across the country.
Mr Baba-Ahmed noted that Tinubu had the backing of a large number of governors and a substantial majority in the National Assembly, but argued that the political advantage had not translated into electoral security for the President.
“You have a president who appears to have garnered the support of 31 governors and quite possibly about 75 per cent of the National Assembly, yet he’s still uncomfortable. It’s politically monstrous,” he said.
He linked the President’s alleged political unease to the prevailing condition of the country under the Tinubu administration, arguing that the concentration of political control should ordinarily give the government confidence ahead of an election.
“If it’s a credible, free and fair election, I assure you, Tinubu will lose,” Baba-Ahmed declared.
Explaining his prediction that the result would become clear within hours of voting, the PRP chairman said he deliberately avoided putting an earlier deadline on the outcome.
“I won’t say before 12 noon. Maybe before 4 pm,” he predicted.
