A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Ibrahim Modibbo, has declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will suffer defeat in the 2027 presidential election even before 8am on election day.
Modibbo made the claim while appearing on AIT’s Democracy Today programme on Friday night.
The ADC chieftain expressed strong confidence in the chances of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
According to him, Atiku has the political experience and national reach required to defeat Tinubu at the polls.
Modibbo went further to dismiss the possibility of any politician, including the incumbent president, matching Atiku in the 2027 contest.
He said: “Atiku is one politician Today that can’t be rivalled by any politician including the president.
“Let me repeat again, President Bola Tinubu will be defeated before 8 o’clock on the day of the election.”
The 2027 Elections is expected to feature Tinubu as the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, while Atiku is expected to lead the ADC into the presidential race.
The two politicians are no strangers to Nigeria’s presidential contests.
Tinubu defeated Atiku and Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election after securing more than eight million votes.
Atiku, who contested the election under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, came second, while Obi finished third.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said in August that the ADC did not necessarily need a coalition to win the 2027 election.
“We are going to win. We don’t need a coalition to win this election. The African Democratic Congress does not need a coalition to win this election,” Abdullahi said.
He also expressed confidence that Atiku could defeat Tinubu without depending on other opposition parties.
“I believe so, and that’s our thinking, and that’s what we are working on,” he said when asked whether Atiku could defeat Tinubu on his own.
The ADC chieftain also took aim at the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
He accused the former Rivers State governor of using public funds for political activities.
Modibbo also questioned Wike’s understanding of politics outside Rivers State.
He said: “He is taking public money to spend on politics talking about the president, he doesn’t know anything about the politics of the North and Nigeria, the only knowledge he has is the politics of Rivers,” he added.
Wike remains one of the prominent political figures associated with the Tinubu administration despite his previous relationship with Atiku within the PDP.
Atiku defeated Wike and other aspirants to secure the PDP presidential ticket for the 2023 election.
Wike eventually became part of the group of G5 governors that refused to support Atiku’s presidential campaign.
He later accepted an appointment into Tinubu’s cabinet after the 2023 election.
Politics Nigeria earlier reported that Atiku has promised to restore petrol subsidy if elected president.
On August 25, he said his position on the issue had not changed.
“On the question of subsidy, my position has not changed and will not change: I will restore it! A nation as blessed as ours has no business abandoning its citizens to hardship. Nigeria is rich enough to look after her own,” Atiku said.
The former vice president has also described the 2027 presidential election as his final attempt at occupying the presidency.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on April 15, Atiku acknowledged that the next election could be his last presidential outing.
“Certainly, yes. Because I believe that will be my last outing. That is incontrovertible,” he said.
In a related development, Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had earlier declared that President Bola Tinubu could not win the 2027 presidential election if the contest was free and fair.
Atiku made the declaration on Wednesday, April 15, during an interview with Arise Television.
The ADC presidential candidate based his argument on what he described as the performance of the Tinubu administration and the growing strength of opposition politicians preparing to challenge the president.
Atiku also said the 2027 election would be his final attempt at becoming president.
The former vice president has contested for the presidency several times over the years, including the 2007, 2019 and 2023 elections.
During the Arise interview, he expressed confidence that the opposition could defeat the incumbent if Nigerians were allowed to make their choice freely.
His position was met with a strong response from officials and supporters of the Tinubu administration.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, dismissed Atiku’s comments on power rotation and described his position as self-serving.
Onanuga also maintained that Tinubu would remain in office for eight years if Nigerians gave him another mandate in 2027.
He said Atiku’s argument about the distribution of presidential power between the North and South did not provide a sufficient basis for determining who should become president.
Atiku had argued during the interview that the South had spent more years in the presidency since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
“The south has governed for 18 years and the north for 10, so who is in the deficit?” Atiku asked during the interview.
His comments caused reactions, particularly from members of the APC who accused him of attempting to use zoning and regional calculations to strengthen his 2027 ambition.
Wike also reacted to Atiku’s remarks on April 16, 2026.
The FCT minister described Atiku as a serial political contestant and said he expected the former vice president to continue seeking the presidency beyond 2027.
“Atiku is a serial failure. He is a serial contestant and loser, and I am sure that in 2031, he will still contest,” Wike said.
He also rejected Atiku’s assessment of the Tinubu administration.
“Nigerians would laugh at anyone making such a claim that nothing positive has been achieved. Let him compare the FCT today with what it was during his time as vice-president. Can he honestly say the two are the same?” Wike said.