A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and publisher of Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu, has said only ethno-religious cards can unseat President Bola Tinubu from power in 2027 and not former president Goodluck Jonathan or one-time presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Momodu stated this on Thursday in a post on X, a day after Bayelsa governor, Douye Diri, resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in what is being reported as clearing the way for him to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Diri has not stated the political party he will join ahead of the 2027 election even though he’s serving out his second term.
He joined Enugu governor, Peter Mbah, who on Tuesday dumped the PDP for the APC.
The PDP has expressed fears that its governors in Plateau, Adamawa and Taraba states could also in a matter of days join the APC.
The development will reduce the PDP governors to five from eight.
Apart from Rivers that’s still being controlled by the PDP in the South-South and Anambra under the All Progressives Grand Alliance and the Labour Party in Abia, the South-South and South-East once dominant bases of the PDP have collapsed.
The conquest of the zones, according to Momodu, should also be compensated by a strong ethnic and religious card in the North by a united opposition if the ruling must be defeated.
Momodu observed, “Nigeria has comfortably, voluntarily, and predictably, cruised, senselessly, into a one-party state…” as “both the executive and the legislative arms finally crossed the Rubicon yesterday (Wednesday) under the grip of the ruling party, APC.”
Despite this, the veteran journalist expressed optimism that the opposition still has a path to competitiveness — but only through strategic alliance and regional balancing.
“The opposition has only one option left in order to be competitive since Tinubu has already locked down the South of Nigeria, seemingly,” the “opposition must work speedily to lock down the North. With commonsense, this is feasible, even if difficult,” Momodu, a former chieftain of the PDP said.
He argued that no Southern candidate, including Jonathan or Labour Party’s Peter Obi, can pose a serious challenge to Tinubu in 2027 if they contest independently.
“I do not see any Southern candidate giving Tinubu any tough challenge. Not former President Jonathan. Not former Governor Peter Obi,” he said, adding, “If they run, looking more like independent candidates, they will fail spectacularly,” he wrote.
He therefore urged the opposition to form a coalition similar to the one that produced the APC in 2015, insisting that a Northern Muslim presidential candidate paired with a Southern Christian running mate would be the most viable ticket.
“If [the] opposition is serious and determined to do whatever it takes” to the power from the APC, “it must first unite and decide to play the ethnic and religious cards too.”
In context, the defecting governors as well as senators and members of the House of Representatives among other top defectors to the APC are Christians as well as Muslims. None of them has stated their defection was to promote religious cards as Nigeria is a multi-religious country.
Momodu however said the “opposition must pick a formidable Northern Muslim candidate with a very popular Southern Christian running mate against Tinubu’s likely Muslim/Muslim ticket.”
He maintained that “the game is not over,” but warned that opposition parties must act swiftly and decisively.
“It requires candidates of absolute necessity,” he added.
