A former Kogi West senator, Dino Melaye, has argued that the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) will defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election in Nigeria.
Mr Melaye, while praising the recent defection of a former presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, to the ADC, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that Nigeria’s “redemption” was close, given the crop of politicians switching to the opposition party.
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Mr Kwankwaso enjoys a large following in northern Nigeria, especially in Kano, where he served as governor for two terms.
There are speculations that the 2023 NNPP presidential candidate is considering running on a joint ADC ticket with Peter Obi in the 2027 presidential election.
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‘How opposition’ll defeat Tinubu in 2027’
In the Facebook post, Mr Melaye referenced the voting strength which Mr Kwankwaso enjoyed in Kano State during the 2023 poll as evidence that the opposition party can wrestle power from the APC in 2027.
The former senator specifically argued that the 997,279 votes which Mr Kwankwaso polled in Kano State in the 2023 presidential election were higher than the votes polled by APC’s Mr Tinubu in 11 states of Bayelsa, Delta, Taraba, Gombe, Borno, Yobe, Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, and Imo.
PREMIUM TIMES fact-checked this claim and found it to be correct.
Mr Tinubu of the APC polled a total of 946,243 votes during the 2023 presidential election across Bayelsa (42,572), Delta (90,183), Taraba (135,165), Gombe (146,977), Borno (252,282), Yobe (151,459), Abia (8,914), Anambra (5,111), Enugu (4,772), Ebonyi (42,402), and Imo states (66,406).
As of March 2026, 31 out of 36 governors are members of the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
But Mr Melaye suggested that the number of states controlled by the APC will have no bearing on the outcome of the 2027 presidential election.
The former senator noted that 22 governors were in the APC before the 2023 general election, yet the ruling party won only 12 of those states.
He contended that Mr Kwankwaso’s defection to the ADC and teaming up with the PDP candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar and his Labour Party counterpart, Mr Obi, will help to ensure Mr Tinubu’s defeat in the 2027 poll.
“Do you know that the opposition votes, that is, Atiku, Obi and Kwankwaso, polled 14,582,740, representing about 64%, while Tinubu got 8,794,726, representing about 36%?
“Do you know that in the 2023 elections, Tinubu won in 12 states while the opposition won in 25 states, including the FCT?” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES also fact-checked these claims and found them to be correct.
Like Mr Tinubu, Atiku, and Mr Obi won 12 states each while Mr Kwankwaso won only Kano State during the 2023 presidential election.
‘Opposition parties have enough time to prepare for 2027’
Mr Melaye also contended that Atiku, Messrs Obi and Kwankwaso separately secured votes in the 2023 election despite moving to their different political parties six months before the poll.
READ ALSO: 2027: Kano APC 2023 governorship candidate joins ADC
The former senator stressed that, unlike the 2023 election, the opposition has exactly 12 months until the 2027 poll, which he said is enough time for them “to put their house in order.”
“Well, the moving of Kwankwaso to join Atiku, Peter Obi, Dino Melaye, (Rotimi) Ameachi, Nasir El-Rufai, Malami, Rauf (Aregbesola), Kashim Imam and SIA (Senator Ibikunle Amosun) in ADC is not just a mere political alignment but a political earthquake.
“These are empirical evidence, numbers not just rhetorics and social media wishy wishy,” he stated.
“Redemption is here,” the politician remarked.
