Nigeria’s ruling party senator Adams Oshiomhole has declared that opposition divisions will hand the All Progressives Congress a straightforward path to retaining power in the 2027 general elections, framing internal feuds among opposition figures as a gift to President Bola Tinubu’s reelection bid.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, May 13, the senator representing Edo North and former Edo State governor trained his sharpest line on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. “Atiku is now our best campaign manager,” he said, citing Atiku’s alleged public attacks on fellow opposition figure Peter Obi as ammunition the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not need to generate itself.
Oshiomhole went further, noting that Obi and former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi have also been trading barbs, while Amaechi has positioned himself as the only national candidate in the race while dismissing both Atiku and Obi as regional players. Oshiomhole pointed out that Amaechi had not addressed what his own grassroots support looked like.
The senator challenged the opposition to move beyond criticism of the government and spell out the specific Tinubu policies they would reverse if elected. He cited the removal of fuel subsidies, the student loan programme and broader tax reforms as decisions the opposition had not coherently addressed. He accused them of being united only by the pursuit of power rather than any common policy agenda.
The remarks came against a backdrop of visible fractures within the opposition coalition. Key figures including Atiku, Obi, Amaechi and Rabiu Kwankwaso had initially agreed to work together under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a platform for a unified 2027 challenge. Legal disputes over the party’s leadership structure subsequently led to realignments, with Atiku and Amaechi remaining within the ADC while Obi and Kwankwaso departed. The question of who the ADC will eventually present as its presidential candidate remains unresolved.
On the APC side, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) moved to clear the path for Tinubu’s primary participation, voting at its 188th meeting on May 6 to waive the standard screening requirement for the president. Party spokesman Felix Morka confirmed that Tinubu had been deemed duly screened under the APC’s constitution, citing his clearance ahead of the 2022 primaries as sufficient and his physical re-appearance before a screening panel as unnecessary. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027, with governorship polls set for February 6.
