‘Atiku, Obi must unite to stop Tinubu in 2027’ – Donald Duke

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu could secure re-election in 2027 if major opposition candidates fail to unite ahead of the election.

Duke warned that a divided opposition could split the votes among leading contenders and create an advantage for the incumbent.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Wednesday, the former Cross River State governor said the rivalry between former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the Africa Democratic Congress (ADC) and Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) could work in Tinubu’s favour.

According to Duke, the opposition could repeat the pattern witnessed in the 2023 presidential election if Atiku and Obi contest against each other rather than work together.

He said the division of opposition votes could make it easier for Tinubu to retain the presidency in 2027.

Duke made the remarks while assessing the prospects of opposition candidates and the possible political alignments ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Duke said the opposition would struggle to defeat the ruling party if major contenders continued to pursue separate presidential bids.

“We don’t understand what we’re doing. If in the United States, which is the system we’ve largely just copied verbatim from, they have two major parties. If you fragmented the Democrats, for instance, into two or three other parties, the Republicans will remain in office forever. That’s what we’re doing,” he said.

According to Duke, divisions among major opposition figures in 2023 spread votes among different candidates.

“In 2023, we fragmented, and all the major opposition came from PDP. You had Vice President Atiku from the PDP. You had Peter, Labour at the time, and you had Kwankwaso. They fragmented,” he said.

The former Cross River State governor attributed the difficulty of forging a common opposition platform partly to what he described as “large egos” among the leading contenders.

He said the opposition figures appeared confident about their chances in 2027 but warned that they could be disappointed if they failed to work together.

“These guys, the big ones you’re talking about, they’re preparing for inauguration. They think they’re going to win. I have news for them. They’re not going anywhere,” Duke said.

He added that he did not see any of the leading opposition candidates emerging victorious if the opposition remained divided.

“If I look at a crystal ball, what I see in that crystal ball is not them. I see another horror coming up,” he said.

Asked specifically whether his prediction meant Tinubu would win the 2027 presidential election, Duke replied, “Absolutely.”

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