The Federal Government has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu will secure another term in office in the 2027 presidential election, dismissing arguments by opposition figures Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) could be defeated.
The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, said there was no serious basis for claims that the APC had lost support in the North, insisting that the party remained strong enough to retain the Presidency and win other major elections across the country.
Musa made the declaration during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, where he was asked about growing opposition to the Tinubu administration and the possibility of the APC losing Kaduna State in the next election.
According to the minister, claims of widespread rejection of the APC in northern Nigeria were largely based on individual perceptions rather than the actual political situation on the ground.
“That’s a perception. It’s a perception, and I mean, everybody has his own perception to deal with. People will always have the good, the bad, and the ugly,” he said.
Musa went further when asked specifically whether the APC could be defeated in Kaduna State, saying he was certain that the party would retain the state.
“I cannot say cannot lose. APC will win in Kaduna. That I know,” he said.
Clarifying that his prediction was not limited to the governorship election, Musa added, “Definitely. Presidential, governorship, and all levels.”
The minister also pushed back against the argument that dissatisfaction with the economic situation had translated into widespread opposition to Tinubu and the APC, saying some critics were driven by personal frustrations.
“That’s why I said there are some people, because probably they are not where they think they are, the tendency is they want to whip up sentiments. APC is this, APC is that,” he said.
Musa defended the President’s economic programme, acknowledging that some of the government’s decisions had been painful but arguing that the results would become clearer with time.
“But I can tell you this, the President has taken very painful decisions, and I can tell you these are decisions that are coming in gradually,” he said.
He added that Nigerians would eventually understand the reasoning behind some of the measures being implemented by the administration.
“I mean, you can look at the economy and all these things, we’re coming in gradually. At a time, people will now realise that, look, this thing we thought was like this, this is actually how it’s going,” Musa said.
His comments followed separate statements by Obi and Kwankwaso in Rivers State, where the two opposition politicians sought to rally supporters ahead of the 2027 elections.
Obi, who is the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), told supporters at a town hall meeting in Port Harcourt that voters must be prepared to defend their ballots against intimidation and electoral manipulation.
The former Labour Party presidential candidate said the circumstances surrounding the 2027 election would make it more difficult for anyone to interfere with voters at polling units.
“Nobody will intimidate us again at the polling booth,” Obi said.
He explained that the relatively small number of officials deployed to polling units would not be enough to overpower voters if citizens remained organised and determined to protect their votes.
“If you get to any polling booth today, the highest number of officials you see at any polling booth is five,” he said.
“The average number of voters is 40 to 50. There’s no way five people will intimidate 50 people. And we will make sure we have coordination to ensure that such intimidation does not arise,” Obi added.
He also raised concerns about possible attempts to interfere with the electronic transmission and viewing of election results, particularly through the INEC Result Viewing Portal.
Obi said opposition supporters would be prepared to challenge any technical or deliberate attempt to frustrate the process.
“Yes, they will try to manipulate the IReV. But let me tell you, it will not be easy this time,” he said.
According to him, alternative arrangements would be required to prevent network problems from being used to undermine the credibility of the election.
“There will be so many IReVs this time. This time around, if there is a network glitch, we will give them another one that has no glitch,” Obi stated.
He urged Nigerians to remain committed to protecting their votes, adding, “This time, all of us will rescue our country. Somebody said, ‘We are ready to die.’ Let me tell you, I’m ready to die too.”
Kwankwaso, who is Obi’s running mate on the NDC ticket, also challenged Nigerians to carefully consider the quality and experience of those seeking to govern the country in 2027.
He warned against repeating what he described as past political mistakes, arguing that the consequences of electing the wrong leadership would be severe for Nigerians.
“I believe that Nigerians must not make mistakes again. This is the time to get it right. And anything to the contrary, I believe people, if they make a mistake, certainly people will regret making that mistake. Because it will be too costly for the people and the country. Many of these people have no experience, or they want to forget history,” Kwankwaso said.
The former Kano State governor also challenged the belief that the APC’s control of a large number of states would automatically translate into victory for Tinubu.
He pointed to the 2015 presidential election, when former President Goodluck Jonathan lost his re-election bid despite being the incumbent.
“Jonathan was the president, the sitting president lost the election. I’ve given you an example, especially those who think because they have over 30 governors, they cannot lose the election. That was a very big mistake,” Kwankwaso said.
He claimed that dissatisfaction with some APC governors, particularly in the North, could affect the party’s fortunes in 2027.
“The trend is those governors and their party have performed woefully, to the extent that it is very difficult for them even to come out and campaign. Why? Because from top to bottom, did absolutely nothing,” he said.
