….Olayinka mocks Atiku’s eighth presidential bid, tags Obi ‘content creator’, questions Sowore’s electoral chances
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) has dismissed the electoral chances of opposition figures Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and Omoyele Sowore, insisting that President Bola Tinubu faces no serious challenge ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The PCC’s Spokesperson for Media and Strategic Communications, Lere Olayinka, described the opposition candidates as political aspirants seeking to register their presence on the ballot rather than win the presidency.
Olayinka spoke on Thursday while on a live TVC programme monitored by our correspondent in Abuja.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate; Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate; and Sowore, the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, came under attack during Olayinka’s assessment of the opposition’s preparedness for the election.
Olayinka questioned Atiku’s repeated presidential bids, describing his eighth attempt as evidence of an ambition that had persisted for decades.
He also accused the former vice-president of inconsistency over fuel subsidy policy.
“Someone who started contesting for president since 1993… this is his eighth time. Anytime the whistle is blown, if today they say there should be election of president every month, Atiku would be contesting every month,” he said.
Olayinka also recalled Atiku’s description of fuel subsidy as a fraud in 2022, accusing him of subsequently advocating its restoration.
He turned to Obi, a former Anambra State governor, whom he described as a “content creator”, questioning his political consistency and ability to manage crises.
“Peter Obi is more like a content creator — he says something today, he says another thing tomorrow,” Olayinka said.
He also questioned Obi’s record of managing political parties, citing his departure from the PDP and Labour Party amid internal disputes.
“Someone who has not been able to manage an ordinary political party… does that mean if he becomes president and there is a problem in Nigeria, he will run and go to Cameroon?” he queried.
Sowore, the human rights activist and publisher who is seeking the presidency for the third time under the AAC, was criticised over his performance in the 2023 election.
Olayinka cited Sowore’s 14,600 votes in the last presidential election as evidence, arguing that the AAC candidate’s electoral record did not suggest he could defeat Tinubu in 2027.
“For instance, the candidate of AAC, Omoyele Sowore, had 14,600 votes in 2023. How would that person win the election next year? They know that they cannot win,” he said.
The APC spokesman argued that some presidential candidates were contesting mainly to establish their presence rather than secure victory.
“It is not everybody that contests elections that wants to win. There are people that contest elections just to register their presence,” he said.
Olayinka also questioned the NDC’s grassroots strength, arguing that a presidential candidate needed a broad national structure and sufficient personnel to mobilise voters and protect votes across polling units.
He maintained that electoral success depended on more than public visibility, insisting that candidates needed the organisational capacity to compete effectively nationwide.
On the APC’s preparations, Olayinka said political alliances were being built across states, dismissing concerns over reported disagreements among party stakeholders.
He cited cooperation between the APC and the Accord Party in Osun State, alongside alliances involving other political groups, as part of efforts to strengthen Tinubu’s re-election campaign.
“APC in Osun State and Accord Party are working together. It is a coalition. They are working to deliver votes to the president,” he said.
Olayinka expressed confidence that the APC’s coalition-building efforts and grassroots mobilisation would give Tinubu an advantage over the opposition in the 2027 election.
