Divided Opposition May Lose To Tinubu In 2027 — Donald Duke
He believes Tinubu is beatable if opposition parties and politicians can put aside their differences and unite behind a common candidate.
The former Cross River State governor argued that the President no longer enjoys the level of sympathy he had during the last election.
Former Cross River State Governor and presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has stated that President Bola Tinubu’s governance has revealed weaknesses in the political structure supporting him.
Duke made these comments on Monday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
When asked if Tinubu is politically stronger now than he was in 2023, Duke responded that he did not believe so, arguing that the President no longer has the level of sympathy he enjoyed during the last election.
“I don’t think so. I believe his governance has exposed the weaknesses of the contraption behind him. I don’t think he has the sympathies he had in 2023,” Duke said.
He added that the economic hardship facing Nigerians has left many people disillusioned with Tinubu’s style of governance, with hope turning into despair.
“Things have become harder for people. Many are disillusioned by his style of governance; hope has turned into despair. Yes, you talk about structures and all that, but I think on election day they will be fighting for their own survival,” he said.
‘Tinubu Weak on Governance’
While acknowledging that Tinubu is a formidable politician, the PRP presidential candidate said his main concern with the former Lagos State governor is his style of governance.
“Give it to him, he is a formidable politician. My issue with him is governance, not politics. He is weak on governance. From what we have seen over the last three years, he is very weak on governance,” Duke said.
Duke argued that Tinubu does not deserve another four years in office, stating that the country is already in a state of crisis due to what he described as poor governance.
He warned that allowing Tinubu to continue in office while poverty increases year after year would take the country further in the wrong direction.
The PRP presidential candidate said he would implement a better governance structure than Tinubu’s if elected president in 2027.
‘Divided Opposition Will Lose to Tinubu’
Despite believing that President Bola Tinubu can be defeated in the 2027 election, Duke admitted that a divided opposition would struggle to achieve that.
According to him, Tinubu would win the election if the opposition remains divided, although he would still emerge as a minority president because he would not secure a majority of the votes cast.
Duke said the opposition must find a way to unite and prepare for possible challenges that could affect the outcome of the presidential election.
“The reality is that things are bound to happen on that election day. How to mitigate those things should be the major concern of the opposition. I don’t like people who cry wolf after it has happened. We have done this several times before; we should anticipate it. United we stand if we do it; if we don’t, then we will only have ourselves to blame because it has repeated itself,” he said.
Willing to Step Down
Duke also expressed his willingness to step down from the 2027 presidential race for any candidate agreed upon by the opposition to challenge Tinubu.
When asked whether he would be willing to step down for another candidate, Duke replied, “Absolutely. First of all, once we have commonality in objective, the next question is who is best suited for this? You need some voice of reason among the lot of them.”
