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2027: Coalition’s bid to unseat Tinubu faces setback as PDP suffers mass exodus
With two years to the next presidential election, mixed reactions have trailed the gale of defections by high-profile politicians from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, into the All Progressives Congress, APC.
This comes as it was hinted that the coalition spearheaded by former PDP’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar may not succeed against the President Bola Tinubu-led APC due to moves by some Fulani interests to escalate the Fulani war that has birthed itself in Nigeria.
Recently, Atiku, his counterpart from the Labour Party Peter Obi, Babachir Lawal, former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, announced the formation of the coalition under the Social Democratic Party.
Since the announcement, no political bigwig has joined the party in their push to wrest power from Tinubu in 2027.
This is as the PDP and Atiku’s camp lost two major stakeholders from the South-South, Ifeanyi Okowa and Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State.
Okowa, who was Atiku’s presidential running mate in the 2023 election, had dumped the PDP for the APC alongside Oborevwori at a stakeholders’ meeting in Asaba, Delta State.
It was observed that Oborevwori’s defection now puts the APC in the lead in the Nigerian Delta region, Delta, Edo, and Cross River states are APC, while the governors of Akwa Ibom and Rivers states have backed President Tinubu, leaving only Bayelsa State with the PDP.
In the Southwest, the APC may likely retain votes from the region because Tinubu hails from the area.
For the North, there have been agitations over the region’s political leaning ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with former presidential aide Hakeem Baba-Ahmed saying the North will decide its political direction in the next six months because the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari made the region wiser.
Baba-Ahmed said, “In the next six months, the North will decide where it stands. If the rest of the country wants to join us, fine. If not, we will go our own way.”
While Baba-Ahmed, a former spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), El-Rufai has been trying to galvanize the North to tilt their votes towards the opposition coalition with his visit to the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, and former presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso amid talks with other prominent politicians from the rregion.
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El-Rufai speaks on Abuja airport arrest attempts by security operatives
El -Rufai wrote.“Our country must outgrow executive overreach particularly involving opposition figures and former public office holders, and deliberate disregard for the rule of law
A former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has condemned what he described as an illegal attempt by security operatives to arrest him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, following his arrival from Cairo, Egypt.
El-Rufai made this known in a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday, where he accused authorities of executive overreach and disregard for the rule of law.
“My lawyers have issued a statement that condemns the illegal attempt to arrest me today at the Abuja airport upon my arrival from Cairo,” El-Rufai wrote.“Our country must outgrow executive overreach particularly involving opposition figures and former public office holders, and deliberate disregard for the rule of law,” he added.
News
INEC needs N873bn for 2027 elections, says Amupitan
The 2027 election budget is structured into five major components: N379.748 billion for operational expenses, N92.317 billion for administrative costs, N209.206 billion for technology, N154.905 billion for capital expenditure, and N42.608 billion for miscellaneous items.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan has estimated a total of N873.778 billion for the conduct of the 2027 general elections, while requesting N171 billion for its 2026 operational budget.
Amupitan made the projection on Thursday when he presented the Commission’s budget proposals before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters.
He clarified that the nearly N874 billion earmarked for 2027 polls is separate from the 2026 budget, which covers routine operations, by-elections, and off-cycle polls.
The 2027 election budget is structured into five major components: N379.748 billion for operational expenses, N92.317 billion for administrative costs, N209.206 billion for technology, N154.905 billion for capital expenditure, and N42.608 billion for miscellaneous items.
The projection does not include a pending request by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for an upward review of allowances for corps members deployed as ad-hoc election staff.
News
El-Rufai resists arrest by security agents at Abuja Airport
Regarding today’s incident, Muyiwa Adekeye, El-Rufai’s media aide, confirmed that ” As he arrived at the airport, security agents approached him, but Malam El-Rufai declined to follow them without a formal invitation. They, however, snatched his international passport from an aide.”
Security agents today at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, attempted to arrest former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, upon his arrival from Cairo, Egypt
Ohibaba.com reported the previous day that El-Rufai, in an interview with BBC Hausa, said he could be arrested in Nigeria at any time.
He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of pressuring politicians to either align with the party or face political consequences.
El-Rufai also claimed that some of his associates had already been detained. “Four people we worked with in Kaduna have been arrested; so it’s only a matter of time before they come for me too,” he said
Regarding today’s incident, Muyiwa Adekeye, El-Rufai’s media aide, confirmed that ” As he arrived at the airport, security agents approached him, but Malam El-Rufai declined to follow them without a formal invitation. They, however, snatched his international passport from an aide.”
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