Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesperson, Segun Sowunmi, has expressed concern over the controversy he believes could follow the 2027 presidential election, saying President Bola Tinubu may face allegations of electoral manipulation even if he secures victory.

Sowunmi spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday while discussing Tinubu’s prospects in the 2027 presidential race.

The PDP chieftain said the outcome of the election itself would not be the only issue confronting the country, arguing that the reaction of defeated candidates and their supporters could have greater implications for national stability.

“I pity him (Tinubu) because after he wins, they’re going to start saying he rigged,” Sowunmi said.

He maintained that the ability of political parties and their supporters to accept the result of the election would be critical to maintaining peace after the poll.

According to him, the electorate has the power to determine who governs them, and politicians must be willing to respect that choice even when the result favours their opponents.

“The biggest challenge for the stability of this country going forward is not so much who will win or who will lose, but how they will accept outcomes,” he said.

Sowunmi said an election could produce a result different from the expectations of a candidate, stressing that such an outcome should not automatically become a basis for claims of wrongdoing or attempts to destabilise the country.

“Because if you do an election and people can vote for you, they can vote for your rival,” he said.

He added that continued rejection of an electoral outcome after an opponent has been declared winner could create a situation where the person who received the people’s votes becomes the target of accusations and agitation.

“And if they do happen to vote for your rival and he wins, if you insist that all you are going to be doing is screaming up and down and instigating the society, how does the winner become the victim of the votes people gave him?” Sowunmi asked.

He urged political actors to place the stability of Nigeria above partisan interests by accepting the decision of voters and pursuing legitimate channels to challenge disputed results.

The African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo does not have any political value.

Speaking to newsmen on Wednesday, Atiku said he was not bothered by Obasanjo’s refusal to endorse him.

“In 1999, he could not even win his own state or the Southwest; it was Arewa that made him President. He possesses no electoral value,” Atiku said.

Recall that the duo have not been on good terms since they left office in 2007 after completing their second term of eight years as President and Vice President, respectively.

Atiku had revealed that he opposed Obasanjo’s third-term bid to defend Nigeria’s Constitution and democracy rather than out of personal loyalty.

Speaking on the 2027 general elections, Atiku said that as Vice President of Nigeria he gave many young Nigerians the opportunity to serve in government.

According to him, some of them are now governors, ministers, directors and holders of other important positions, adding that if he becomes President, young Nigerians will continue to be given opportunities to serve and lead.

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Dele Momodu, has replied to a statement made by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, on the recently concluded Osun State governorship election.

Speaking during an interview on News Central Television on Wednesday, Momodu described the statement as “an empty boast.”

The minister had said he would have been in Osun State to help secure victory for the All Progressives Congress, APC, if President Bola Tinubu had wanted the party to win the election.

Replying, Momodu said Wike’s influence could not be greater than that of the Senate President and several governors who were unable to secure the desired result in Osun State.

The publisher of Ovation Magazine slammed the statement, describing it as unfortunate, and warned that the minister’s rhetoric suggested a strategy of enforcement to ensure APC victories in the 2027 general elections.

“I think it was a very unusual, uncommon and unfortunate statement for a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to make, but nothing is beyond our friend, Wike, the FCT Minister.

“When I listened to him, I had to respond instantly because I knew that was an empty boast. If he had been in Osun, he would not have achieved anything.

“He is not bigger than the Senate President and all the governors who carried themselves to Osun to try to deliver Osun to the APC. But the danger in his statement must be noted, especially as we approach January 2027.

“The only way the APC can win the next presidential election and all the governorship elections is very simple. They will need to repeat what they attempted in Osun and failed woefully.

“I need to also remind Wike, in case he has already forgotten, that five of them abandoned the PDP in the last election, and three of them were from Abia, Enugu and Benue states.

“The then governors, three of the G-5 governors, attempted to win senatorial seats in their respective states and also failed spectacularly. So, that is to tell you that governors don’t have the power of life and death.

“Wike would have to divide himself into 36 states plus Abuja for him to perform the kind of magic he thinks he can perform,” Momodu said.