Former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, has cautioned that President Bola Tinubu could win the 2027 elections with ease if opposition parties fail to come together.

Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, Sani said the ongoing defections to the APC and the growing disunity among opposition groups could hand the ruling party another smooth victory. “You can’t remove a ruling party without a united front,” he said, urging parties like the PDP, Labour Party, NNPP, and SDP to put aside personal interests and work for the survival of democracy.

Despite several calls for a merger or alliance, Sani noted that the opposition remains divided, with each party choosing to go its separate way. He warned that heading into 2027 in this disjointed state could lead to another one-sided result. He recalled that the failure to unite before the 2023 election played a major role in Tinubu’s win, and unless something changes, the same scenario could repeat itself.

Sani also pointed out that party-switching in Nigeria is common because political parties don’t really stand on firm ideologies. According to him, most manifestos are similar, and many politicians simply use parties as platforms to chase their goals.

He stressed that it’s not Tinubu’s responsibility to keep opposition groups alive, saying the parties must take charge of their own internal issues and prevent more defections. Predicting further movement to the APC, he said unresolved leadership crises, especially in the PDP, are pushing politicians away.

“You can’t build confidence in a party when there are multiple secretaries or rival factions fighting over primaries. It creates confusion, and no one wants to invest in that kind of instability,” he said. Sani ended by warning that if things continue this way, Nigeria might slip into a one-party system—not officially, but by default.

Prince Adewole Adebayo, presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 elections, has urged President Bola Tinubu to shift his focus from political alliances ahead of 2027 and pay closer attention to the growing frustration among Nigerians.

Speaking in a recent interview, Adebayo said Tinubu is smart enough to understand that the new coalition of politicians isn’t the real threat. According to him, “Most of those forming the coalition are close allies of the president. You’ll find countless photos of them together. They’re all part of the same political circle.”

He emphasized that the real danger lies in the dissatisfaction of ordinary Nigerians who are battling economic hardship. “What should worry the president isn’t political billboards or photo ops, but the actual pain people are going through daily,” he said.

Adebayo accused Tinubu of being more focused on securing a second term than addressing the country’s pressing challenges. “Let’s be honest. What we’re seeing isn’t an administration. It’s just a presidency. There’s no real governance going on,” he stated. He described the presidency as being disconnected from reality, run by a small circle of people who are out of touch with the struggles on the ground.

Adebayo didn’t hold back on the government’s handling of the economy either. He criticized the two budgets under Tinubu’s leadership, saying neither has provided real solutions. “Both budgets have failed to tackle the core problems, and the second one is even worse than the first. There’s no clear grip on employment or poverty,” he said.

He stressed that the best way to fight poverty is through job creation, something he believes the current government is failing at. “Until they get serious about creating jobs, the suffering will continue,” he warned.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has taken a swipe at President Bola Tinubu’s government, calling its new “Nigeria First” slogan a shallow PR stunt rather than a genuine effort to fix the country.

In a statement through his aide, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku questioned the sincerity of the campaign and urged Tinubu to lead by example. He challenged the President to ditch his luxury foreign-made Escalade for a locally built vehicle from companies like Innoson or Nord. According to Atiku, such a move would speak louder than any policy document.

He also criticized Tinubu’s ministers, mocking them as “Rolls Royce lovers” and calling on them to embrace Nigerian-made cars in solidarity with citizens facing economic hardship. Atiku didn’t stop there. He asked Tinubu to swap his foreign holidays for visits to places like Obudu Cattle Ranch, Yankari Game Reserve, or Erin Ijesha Waterfalls. “Nigeria is beautiful — unless the President believes otherwise,” he said.

On the matter of healthcare, Atiku slammed the President’s recurring medical trips abroad, calling it a clear contradiction to the self-reliance message. He insisted that Tinubu should receive all medical treatment at Nigerian hospitals such as LUTH, UCH, or the well-equipped facility in Uyo, arguing that if these hospitals are good enough for the public, they should serve the Commander-in-Chief as well.

He ended by saying the government was asking Nigerians to make sacrifices while it continued to indulge in luxury. “Real leadership means setting an example,” he said. “We don’t need more speeches or staged photos. What this country needs is action.”