Peter Obi not a threat to Tinubu in 2027 – Ex-senator

Former deputy governor of Ekiti state, Senator Biodun Olujimi, has stated that Peter Obi’s eloquence, which boosted his performance in the 2023 presidential election, will not be enough to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, on Thursday, Olujimi said Tinubu’s deep political experience makes him a formidable opponent.

Her words: “The rhetoric of the last election will not work again, except he comes with another gimmick.

“And you see, this (Tinubu) is a politician, a man who knows the terrain well.”

Olujimi, a former Senate minority leader, said Nigeria is currently being governed by someone who is “a dyed-in-the-wool politician” who understands the political ecosystem and has built strong alliances over time.

She said: “This is the first time we are having a dyed-in-the-wool politician as president. He knows his onions; he knows all of us. He has been in the system for very long. It’s tough.

“This is a man who has worked with everyone, who has been useful to everyone, who has had opportunities to assist governments. Beating him? Uphill task.”

On her recent defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Olujimi said she joined because the ruling party is “different now” and more pragmatic than in the past.

Her words: “The APC we talked about in the past, the government that was in power then, is not the current one in power. There is a different APC now.

“This government is pragmatic. It’s resolute, it’s taking tough decisions and running with the decisions. It’s not like other governments – taking tough decisions and when people start to complain, dropping it and making them comfortable again, going back to the old ways.

“Rather, it’s taking the bull by the horns and moving on, and that is what I saw in the new APC. I am telling you that it is this government that made me join the APC, not any other.”

Olujimi admitted it may seem unfair to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which gave her a political platform, but said the party had lost its way.

She said her supporters at the grassroots were pleased with her decision to join the APC.

“I would rather leave the PDP than remain there and work against it,” she added.

On the opposition coalition emerging through the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Olujimi said the platform lacks political structures in Ekiti state and at the grassroots level, making it an unviable alternative.