Inside APC, opposition battle for 2027

Political pundits and analysts have expressed concerns over the raging “war of words” between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the leading opposition parties in the country over the 2027 general elections.

Daily Trust reports that two years to the election, the opposition is already at daggers drawn with the APC over the control of governance at the centre, resulting in a tense political landscape.

Analysts have argued that the early tantrums and scheming, as well as subtle campaigns for power grabs in 2027, is affecting governance and violating the relevant electoral laws in the country. 

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The leading opposition parties –  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) – have intensified their criticism of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led government describing its policies as obnoxious and draconian.

The APC and opposition parties have been throwing tantrums at each other in the build-up to the elections, with the latter plotting to stop the president’s second term bid.

The PDP, in one of its recent statements signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, flayed Tinubu for his alleged failure to stabilise the economy, nip in the bud the spate of killings, hunger, high cost of living, insecurity, poverty, and high level of unemployment, corruption and other challenges bedevilling the country.

In another statement, also signed by its spokesman, Ologunagba, the PDP accused the Tinubu administration of “massive disappointment”, saying Nigerians have “gone through hell.”

In October last year, the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) alleged that the crisis in some of the opposition parties in the country was being sponsored by the APC to enable it to retain power in 2027.

The National Chairman of the NNPP, Ajuji Ahmed, made the allegation during the flag-off of the campaign for the party’s Ondo State governorship candidate, Olugbenga Edema, in Akure.

Similarly, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) National Chairman, Dr Ralph Okey Nwosu, in an interview with Daily Trust last week, accused the Tinubu-led government of spending huge sums of money to destabilise opposition parties.

The aggrieved parties have equally alleged that the APC has been using promises of automatic tickets, contracts and appointments to influence their members to jump ship in recent times.

But the APC National Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, has dismissed the claims as false, saying the policies of the current administration were yielding fruitful results. He also told Daily Trust that the APC is too busy with governance to interfere in the activities of the opposition parties.

Observers say the APC has used the endorsement and adoption of President Tinubu as its sole presidential candidate for the 2027 poll during its recent national summit in Abuja to challenge the opposition.

Recall that the ruling party and the presidency have consistently asked opposition parties to “stop dreaming” about taking over power in 2027, declaring “there is no vacancy in the Aso Rock Villa.”

However, a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, had dumped APC for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) with a view to challenging Tinubu’s re-election in 2027. El-Rufai recently labeled the Tinubu-led government as the worst since the return to democracy in 1999 after many years of military rule.

Also, the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 poll, Atiku Abubakar, is championing the formation of a coalition with the agenda to unseat Tinubu in 2027.

Atiku recently flayed Tinubu over his continued stay in France amid a surge in deadly violence across Nigeria, accusing the president of “Abandoning the country during one of its darkest moments.”

In another statement, Atiku criticised Tinubu’s plan to secure another $24 billion in new loans, calling it reckless, unsustainable, and a looming threat to Nigeria’s economic future. But reacting, the Presidency hit back at Atiku, saying his economic ideas would have plunged the country into a worse situation if he were elected president.

Similarly, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has scored the Tinubu administration very low, stressing that the government failed to tackle the challenges confronting the country.

He also criticised political leaders for recently endorsing “Tinubu’s anti-democratic policies and celebrating what he described as state capture.” But a presidential spokesman, Daniel Bwala, hit back at Obi, saying he has no locus to criticise the government.

In his 2025 democracy day speech, President Tinubu said, “It’s  indeed, a pleasure to witness you (opposition parties) in such disarray.”

‘Both camps overheating the polity’

A political analyst, Aminu Yakudima, said the political actors are overheating the polity and heightening tension in the country.

In a telephone chat with Daily Trust, Yakudima said the “war” between the two parties has the tendency to affect governance, describing the trend as detrimental to the country and its citizens.

He said, “The situation is not palatable, it is detrimental to the Nigerian state, democracy and development. We can see that the antecedents of most of the politicians, especially the contemporary politicians, is not telling well on the development of Nigeria.

“When you see people cross-carpeting parties, they are desperate because most of them want to aspire for one political office or another, and they are going against the rudiments and tenets of democracy; they are also going against the constitution and they don’t care.

“So this is a source of concern to all of us. Its political retrogression and we may be heading for doom, is the main actors do not have a rethink. So all hands must be on deck so that we can protect democracy.

“They are so desperate in trying to have one office by election or appointment. It is really sad to all of us, particularly the young generation.

“So what is required is for the political actors to exercise caution. Political leaders and actors must call themselves to order, because what they are doing is that they are overheating the polity,” he said.

‘Actors must exercise caution’

Similarly, an elder statesman, Chief Chekwas Okorie, blamed both camps for their desperation for power, saying they must exercise caution in the interest of the country.

In a telephone chat with Daily Trust, Okorie, a former presidential candidate, said both camps have kick-started campaigns when INEC has not even lifted restrictions on campaigns for the 2027 polls, saying it is not a good omen for democracy.

The elder statesman said by endorsing and adopting Tinubu for re-election publicly and promising to work for his success in the election, the APC has kicked off the campaign.

“I am of the strong view that the quality of opposition we have had since the APC came into power, especially the Tinubu administration, has left much to be desired.

“Most times, the opposition doesn’t dwell much on issues. They go hitting below the belt. At the same time, the response of the presidency also does not help matters at all. The president’s media team also goes dirty, and the whole thing tends to heat up the system.

“Endorsement of Tinubu for a second term was uncalled for. We all know that he has a right of first refusal, so it was childish. What they ought to have done was to give him a vote of confidence and encourage him to do more in the remaining two years.

“But they endorsed him for a second term and promised to go all out to mobilise support for him. With this, they practically started off the campaign for 2027. So, the opposition took a cue from them. So, what you are seeing now is like campaigning without INEC lifting the ban. And when things like this happen, governance suffers, and it is the masses that will be at the receiving end, and that is what is happening now,” he said.

On what should be done to halt the trend, Okorie said the National Assembly must act on the issue of electoral reforms, but expressed displeasure over the attitude of some political actors in the country.

“I don’t know what can be done to halt it, because the President is not calling his media men to order and the opposition too is doing everything it can to match the presidency word for word,” he said.

But he expressed concerns that if the situation continues till the election time, there could be violence. He, however, warned against anything that could lead to a political crisis in the country, saying, “Already, there are so many flash points and there is hunger everywhere.”

‘It’s worrisome’

But reacting to the developments, a political analyst, Jackson Lekan Ojo, said the action of the APC and President Tinubu not to focus on governance but engage in a “fight” with the opposition ahead of the next general election is worrisome and counterproductive.

Ojo told Daily Trust in a telephone interview that there was a need for caution, stressing that the APC and opposition were causing political tension and anxiety in the landscape.

He also said the APC should not celebrate the crises rocking the opposition parties yet, expressing concerns that the recent influx of opposition members to its fold is likely to cause implosion before the 2027 polls.

“From the ambience, it is clear that the APC might soon be in disarray too. Look at what is happening in its North East zone. It will soon happen in the North Central and other zones.

“APC will be badly wounded if the ongoing drama continues. But at the same time, the opposition also must be united and sincere in their dealings, especially on the issue of coalition.

“There are several disgruntled elements in the APC who contested and lost previous elections. Some of the people coming in now are already holding elective offices and would like to suppress those already in the party. This will be resisted, I can assure you. And that resistance will cause a crisis.

“Some are moving to APC to race for the position of Vice President, some are rushing to battle for senatorial tickets, while others would be interested in hijacking the party’s hierarchy. So in all these, Nigerians are at the receiving end,” he said.