Why coalition cannot unseat Tinubu in 2027 – Keyamo

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo SAN, has dismissed suggestions of a political coalition succeeding in unseating President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general elections, describing such an effort as “impossible.”

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Keyamo said the much-touted coalition plans by some political elite amounted to “a storm in a teacup” and would not withstand the strength of the structure of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“There is no tsunami coming,” he declared. “I think it’s a storm in a teacup. I respect these people, but if you look at the political history of Nigeria… I have campaigned for two presidents, so I have knowledge of the demography. It is impossible for you to do a coalition now to unseat the present President (Tinubu).”

Keyamo was responding to comments by Labour Party leader Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed and other northern figures, including former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai and former vice president Atiku Abubakar, who have hinted at forming an opposition coalition.

Baba-Ahmed had accused the Tinubu administration of allowing widespread problems and urged Nigerians to look elsewhere in 2027.

Some members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were also rumoured to be considering joining forces. However, several PDP governors have publicly rejected this idea.

Read Also: Delta can’t afford to work against Tinubu in 2027, says Oborevwori

A former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, called the coalition talks “a dead horse” and “a waste of time”.

When asked if Tinubu’s APC could withstand the alleged political “tsunami” being organised against it, Keyamo insisted that coalition talks were either misguided or too late.

“There are two different things they are talking about — a merger or an alliance. They should be very clear. If it’s a merger, forget it, because it’s too late to start a merger now,” he explained.

“With the process you have to go through — to register, get a new identity and all that — and with elections just around the corner by next year’s end, it is not feasible.”

Keyamo recalled how after the 2011 elections, President Tinubu quickly began merger talks with then-General Muhammadu Buhari, a process he said took years of negotiations, meetings, and conventions.

“The moment we lost the 2011 elections, Tinubu flew to Kaduna and met General (Muhammadu) Buhari. It was a long process before the APC was birthed.

“These people (current coalition proponents) are not experienced enough,” he said.

“The President you are seeing now has gone through all of these, so he is just smiling and looking at all of them; he understands,” he added.

Regarding the influence of mass movements, particularly Peter Obi’s 2023 Obidient movement, Keyamo argued, “The Labour Party was built around him and the Obidient movement. Go back to history — even Chief (Obafemi) Awolowo and Dr (Nnamdi) Azikiwe, despite being heroes, could not overcome the complexities of Nigerian elections without structures.”

Keyamo dismissed suggestions that youth mobilisation might threaten Tinubu’s re-election chances.

“Under what platform?” he questioned. “Did you see what happened in the 2023 elections?

“Despite the naira redesign policy and petroleum scarcity that were against our party, the structures of the APC held firm. It was like a house built on solid rock,” the minister added.

Keyamo further noted that President Tinubu enjoys “more friends in the North than in the South-West,” which he said would again be important in the upcoming election.

Following Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s recent defection to the APC, Keyamo announced he had given up party leadership in the state to the Governor.

“Whether I have to make sacrifices like yesterday, where we surrendered (party leadership in Delta), it is all irrelevant so long as we are strengthening APC, the more for the re-election of Mr President,” he said.