A prominent public commentator, Suraj Oyewale, has said opposition leaders: Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, all need to unite if they hope to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.

In a recent post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle, Oyewale, popularly known as Sir Jarus, advised that the three opposition leaders should work with the PDP.

According to him, 'If PDP goes to poll independently, no coalition will unseat APC.'

He wrote: "A PDP with Atiku, Obi and Kwankwaso all actively working for it is the ONLY option that stands chance of unseating APC in 2027. Atiku & Obi without RMK may be enough, but RMK with them will be a boost. Atiku/Obi ticket the highest chance, ticket-wise, especially if spiced up with a political “understanding” that Atiku will support Obi ticket after 4 years [to make Obi supporters invest in it - even though only an ignorant person takes politicians’ power promises seriously.

"If PDP go to poll independently, no coalition will unseat APC."

Jarus continued:

"When APC unseated PDP in 2015, it was a merger of CPC, ACN, DPP, a faction of APGA and ANPP, and, critically, a faction of PDP, the New PDP. They collapsed into second force, not third force. Any coalition that PDP is not part of, and PDP also presenting a candidate, is still a third force.

"Even worse, 2015 was slightly easier because, while PDP was the ruling party, many of the consequential politicians in PDP were aggrieved. Also, GEJ, the party candidate and leader, wasn’t a hard politician. Unlike BAT and the current APC leaders.

"Many PDP folks worked against GEJ. I can’t remember any heavyweight PDP politician staying with GEJ in 2015. Maybe Wike, who counterbalanced Amaechi’s force in Rivers, an historical high-vote region. Some local politicians like Koro in Lagos, too.

"Rather, most of the people that actively worked for GEJ were not politicians. Guys that talked a lot on TV - the FFKs, Okupes - but little value on ground. Why the dynamics of 2015 are different, even with PDP-included coalition."

Jarus added: "Finally, I think APC is regaining their footing. They had serious image beating in 2024. They appear to be regaining popularity.

"I won’t talk much on 2027 elections, but it will be exciting to see how things go. But one thing is for sure, if there is a coalition and an Atiku contests under PDP, it’s still advantage APC. But if other major parties and anti-BAT politicians coalesce into PDP (with strong candidate, whoever that is), there is a winning chance that ranges between 45-55%."

Opinion

A PDP with Atiku, Obi and Kwankwaso all actively working for it is the ONLY option that stands chance of unseating APC in 2027. Atiku & Obi without RMK may be enough, but RMK with them will be a boost. Atiku/Obi ticket the highest chance, ticket-wise, especially if…

— J9 (@SirJarus) June 4, 2025