The presidency has fired back at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar following his declaration that President Bola Tinubu would be “dead on arrival” in a hypothetical 2027 general election if confronted by a coalition candidate.
In a statement responding to Atiku’s remarks during an Arise TV interview, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu, Daniel Bwala underscored that history, structures, and electoral machinery remain decisive in Nigeria’s political landscape.
With a coalition candidate, President Tinubu is dead on arrival, Atiku had implied, asserting that the APC government’s policies and performance have eroded public confidence and positioning the opposition coalition as stronger than the APC of 2015.
Bwala, however, cautioned against overestimating the potency of opposition alliances, reminding Nigerians that the ruling party defeated Atiku in 2023 despite his access to governors, states, and entrenched political structures. These governors, these states, and structures were all on his side then. Yet he lost.
“But we know you are the coalition candidate YET (no vex sir), he defeated you in 2023 when you had governors, states, and structures. These governors, states and structures are with him,” he said.
Bwala dismissed Atiku’s claims as out of touch with reality, insisting that even a coalition of aggrieved ‘STATELESS’ leaders would not threaten President Tinubu’s support, adding that he doubts the President would even need to check the scoreboard on election day.
The 2027 general election, Atiku has declared, will mark his final attempt to ascend to the presidency, a bid framed by him as the culmination of decades of political ambition. He maintains that an opposition coalition, transcending party lines, could decisively challenge the APC incumbent.
