The spokesperson for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar's presidential campaign, Kenneth Okonkwo, has made a blunt assessment of the 2027 presidential election landscape.

He insists that the opposition stands no chance against President Bola Tinubu without a unified coalition and warning that Peter Obi's solo candidacy is a recipe for defeat.

Speaking in an interview with Ibeju Upgrade Media shared on YouTube, Okonkwo dismissed the chances of Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, of unseating Tinubu without a broader opposition alliance, arguing that the numbers simply do not add up for a candidate running alone against an incumbent president who has demonstrated a fierce determination to hold power.

"Coalition is the only way out. So you don't come down with a man who has told you from the beginning that power is not taken à la carte — you fight for it, you grab it, you snatch it, you run away with it," he said, referencing Tinubu's well-known declaration.

Okonkwo was particularly pointed in his assessment of Obi's regional appeal, questioning whether the Labour Party's 2023 strongholds would be enough to construct a winning coalition in 2027.

"If Peter Obi goes against Tinubu alone, Tinubu will eat him like biscuits. Will Kano people accept Peter Obi? In 2023, when we had the opportunity, they did not accept him. In 2027, they will not accept him," he said.

He also dismissed Obi's running mate Rabiu Kwankwaso as a negligible political force, including in his own backyard.

"Kwankwaso has nothing to contribute to the ticket. Even in Kano, Kwankwaso has lost," he said bluntly.

The comments come amid ongoing turbulence in opposition politics ahead of the 2027 election. Attempts to forge a coalition in 2025 collapsed after major contenders including Atiku and Obi emerged as presidential candidates of different parties, further fragmenting the opposition's prospects against the ruling APC.

Okonkwo has previously questioned Obi's capacity for national leadership, arguing in May that the former Anambra governor had a pattern of avoiding difficult challenges.


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