2027: Peter Obi, not Atiku has better chance of defeating Tinubu says El-Rufai’s son

.As Jerry Gana insists that Obi under PDP will defeat any northern candidate

.INEC official rules out conducting all elections in one day

Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, has said that Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, would be more likely to defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections.

El-Rufai said in a post on X on Thursday that Obi, not former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, stands a better chance against President Tinubu if Obi picks a formidable Northern vice-presidential candidate.

He also noted that Obi presents a greater obstacle for Atiku, particularly due to his significant youth following and broad-based grassroots popularity.

“Atiku is a force to be reckoned with. He also feels the stars have finally aligned in his favour,” he wrote.

“And although 2019 is thought to have been his best shot, this may be one of those ‘moment meets the man’.

“However, the sheer force of Obi’s numbers and cult like follower-ship brings a challenge. His appeal across the youth & this younger generation is one profound aspect of his leverage. Obi, as a flag bearer with a strong Northern candidate, would defeat Pablo on election day before our dear mother of the nation — Aunty Remi finishes his breakfast around noon.”

Recall that Bashir’s father was among opposition leaders who formed an alliance which was unveiled in Abuja on March 20 on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The coalition aims to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.

Other top politicians who joined in unveiling the coalition were Atiku, Obi, former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, El-Rufai, former Senate President David Mark and former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola among others.

.As Jerry Gana insists that Obi under PDP will defeat any northern candidate

Meanwhile,  former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, has said that if Peter Obi returns to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, he will defeat any candidate from the North in the 2027 presidential election.

Gana stated this during an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time on Wednesday, amid current speculations about Obi’s possible return to the PDP despite his recent engagements with the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Obi, who was the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, left the PDP in May 2022 to pursue his bid under the LP.

“The PDP is on the ground. I’m a researcher, and I research opinions. In the northern states, Peter Obi under the PDP will defeat any candidate because our people are very fair-minded and just,” Gana said.

He disclosed that efforts are still ongoing to bring Obi back into the PDP fold.

“We are reaching out to Peter Obi. Because I’m leading a search team and there are many brilliant people. Peter may be good, but we have somebody better. So, we are searching,” he said.

Gana also admitted that the PDP mishandled Obi’s exit from the party before the 2023 elections.

“We made a mistake in 2023. If I were Atiku, I would say, ‘Peter, it is now your turn; I would give you a vice-president,’ but he didn’t,” he said.

On the recent internal crises within the party, Gana stated they were largely limited to “a few elites in Abuja” and did not reflect the mood of the party’s broader base across the country.

According to him, “I must confess that many people have forgotten that the PDP was created as a grassroots organization.

“In 1998, we were formed and then, moving to the elections in 1999 we were in every polling unit, because we are the ones who really won the first election.

“Many people have forgotten the PDP won most of the local governments. When it came to the presidential elections, we won the presidency, we won the Senate, we won the House.

“We were totally in control, and that is why we were very delighted that we restored democracy to Nigeria and re-established civil rule.

“Because for a number of years there was military rule but we successfully terminated that in a very democratic way, so the PDP was really, as it were, a grassroots party.

“That’s why when we said ‘power to the people,’ we meant it because that was what it was, and it has been like that.

“So when this recent problem happened, it was really among a few elites here in Abuja. It didn’t even go beyond.”

.INEC official rules out conducting all elections in one day

In another development, An official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has advised the National Assembly to jettison a bill before it, seeking the conduct of all elections in one day.

The official, who spoke with NAN on condition of anonymity on Thursday in Abuja, said that the bill, if passed, might truncate the country’s electoral system.

There has been a growing momentum in certain quarters in the country for a major electoral reform, including the conduct of all five major elections – presidential, senatorial, House of Representatives, governorship and House of Assembly – on a single day.

The Patriots, a group of elder statesmen, led by a former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, had made the call during its recent national summit on the Future of Nigeria’s Constitutional Democracy.

Also, the House of Representatives had equally proposed the reform in the Electoral Act 2025, which had passed second reading.

If the proposal is upheld, the reviewed Electoral Act will empower INEC to simultaneously conduct all elections in one day.

Proponents of the reform had argued that a single-day vote would be less vulnerable to possible manipulation and vote-buying and streamline electoral process as well as save time and cost, among other advantages.

However, the INEC official said that the question was not really about the capacity of INEC to conduct all elections in one day, but the practicability of the proposal.

“It’s about the practicality of the concept, the purpose of this latest move and what the whole thing intends to achieve.

“What is wrong with the current method? Will conducting all elections same day guarantee credibility? Will it produce a different outcome from what we have now?

“What is the practicality of it? Did the lawmakers seek INEC’s opinion before embarking on this move?” the official queried.

According to the official, since the constitution gives INEC the exclusive power to determine the date of an election, the lawmakers should not try to erode the power.

The official argued that there were reasons INEC currently holds general elections in two parts, with the presidential and national assembly coming first and the governorship and house of assembly following.

“Even as things stand now, the commission is still finding it challenging to deal with the logistics aspect.

“Remember, for the presidential and national assembly elections, voting takes place simultaneously between 8.30 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. in over 176,000 polling units across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Just imagine, for a moment, what all that entails.

“After that, the process of sorting and counting the ballot papers begins, followed by collation at the ward, local government and state levels.

“After that, returning officers will proceed from each of the states to the National Collation Centre in Abuja to physically present their individual results to the Chief Electoral Commissioner of the Federation, that is, the INEC Chairman.

“He is the only individual empowered by the constitution to announce the result of a presidential election,” the official said, adding that the process takes lots of time.

The INEC official said that adding the burden of other elections to the first part (presidential and national assembly) might truncate the process. To the official, the idea should simply be dropped.