Former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has said the ongoing disagreements among opposition leaders ahead of the 2027 presidential election are indirectly strengthening the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Oshiomhole made the remark while speaking on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television, where he argued that leading opposition figures were busy attacking one another instead of building a united front against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to him, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has, through his criticism of former Anambra State governor Peter Obi, unintentionally become one of the APC’s most effective campaign promoters.
He added that the exchanges among opposition leaders show a lack of cohesion within the coalition seeking to challenge the ruling party in 2027.
Oshiomhole said Obi has been critical of former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, while Amaechi has also dismissed both Obi and Atiku as regional politicians while presenting himself as a national political figure.
“You think APC is worried about which party now? ADC? Atiku is already our best campaign manager because he is attacking Obi. I see Obi attacking Amaechi too,” Oshiomhole said.
“I also hear Amaechi saying Obi is a regional player, Atiku is a regional player, and only he is national, yet he didn’t tell us what his ward structure looks like.”
The senator maintained that opposition parties would struggle to convince Nigerians without presenting clear policy alternatives to the current administration.
He challenged opposition leaders to state whether they would reverse key reforms introduced by Tinubu, including the removal of fuel subsidy, tax restructuring initiatives and the student loan policy.
According to Oshiomhole, the opposition coalition appears driven more by political ambition than ideology, noting that the Tinubu administration had taken difficult decisions aimed at repositioning Nigeria’s economy.
As political activities ahead of 2027 gradually intensify, former Kano State governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is also expected to play a major role in the opposition’s calculations.
Reports indicate that some opposition leaders initially explored a coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), though Obi and Kwankwaso later moved to the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) following legal disputes affecting the ADC.
Meanwhile, the APC has waived the screening process for President Tinubu ahead of its 2027 presidential primary.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the National Working Committee approved the decision during its 188th meeting, declaring Tinubu duly screened in line with party regulations.
