Opposition Division May Favour Tinubu in 2027, Donald Duke Says

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has said President Bola Tinubu could win the 2027 presidential election if leading opposition candidates fail to unite.

Duke made the statement during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.

According to him, a division of opposition votes between Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) could produce a similar outcome to the 2023 presidential election.

The former Cross River State governor said such a split could give Tinubu an advantage in the 2027 election.

Duke added that the opposition could face difficulties challenging the ruling party if major contenders continue to pursue separate presidential bids.

“We don’t understand what we’re doing. In the United States, which is the system we’ve largely just copied verbatim from, they have two major parties. If you fragmented the Democrats, for instance, into two or three other parties, the Republicans will remain in office forever. That’s what we’re doing,” he said.

He further stated that divisions among major opposition figures in 2023 spread votes among different candidates.

“In 2023, we fragmented, and all the major opposition came from the PDP. You had Vice President Atiku from the PDP. You had Peter, Labour at the time, and you had Kwankwaso. They fragmented,” he added.