2027: Peter Obi will come third, Atiku second — Afegbua

Edo State Commissioner for Information, Kassim Afegbua, has predicted that President Bola Tinubu will win the 2027 presidential election, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar finishing second and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi coming third.

Afegbua made the prediction while assessing the chances of major opposition presidential contenders during an interview on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast.

According to the commissioner, the 2027 presidential election is essentially a three-horse race involving Tinubu, Atiku and Obi, while dismissing the chances of other contenders.

“It’s a three-horse race, please. Don’t bug me with the needless distraction of Seyi Makinde,” Afegbua said.

He also questioned the presidential ambition of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who is seeking the presidency on the platform of the Advanced Peoples Movement (APM).

“Where is APM in Nigeria, please? Where is Makinde? Why is he grandstanding? What is the meaning of all of that? Is that arrogance of power, or you just feel that he needs to make some noise? What’s that?” he asked.

Afegbua was equally dismissive of African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore and other opposition contenders, describing them as “rabble rousers.”

“What is the other man’s name? Sowore. All those ones are rabble rousers. It’s a three-horse race,” he said.

The commissioner maintained that the other presidential aspirants do not feature significantly in the ruling party’s assessment of the election.

“All the other names you’ve called, they are filling the gap. They don’t exist in the equation of who are potential candidates that can spring a surprise,” he said.

Afegbua then gave his projected ranking for the election:

“Atiku Abubakar will come second. Peter Obi will come third. President Bola Tinubu will come first.”

‘APC Is Very Solid’

The Edo commissioner said his prediction was based on what he described as statistics, research and empirical analysis of the All Progressives Congress (APC), including the party’s electoral strengths and weaknesses across the country.

“The statistics massing around favour this conclusion. It is based on empirical analysis, based on research, based on investigation,” Afegbua said.

He, however, acknowledged that the APC has weaknesses in some areas but said the party is aware of them and is working to address them ahead of the election.

“We know where our weaknesses are as a party, and we also know the states where we are not going to do well. Things may change because we are putting certain machinery in place. APC is very solid,” he added.

Afegbua’s comments come as political activities and alignments intensify ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with the ruling APC and opposition parties positioning themselves for what is expected to be a closely watched contest.