2027: Donald Duke Warns Opposition Division Could Favour Tinubu

Former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has warned that continued division among major opposition figures could give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu an advantage in the 2027 presidential election.

Duke made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Wednesday while discussing the prospects of the opposition ahead of the election.

He argued that if prominent opposition figures, particularly former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, continue to pursue separate presidential campaigns, the opposition could face a repeat of the vote fragmentation witnessed in 2023.

Duke recalled that Atiku, Obi and former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso contested the 2023 presidential election separately, splitting votes among opposition candidates.

“In 2023, we fragmented, and all the major opposition came from the PDP. You had Vice President Atiku from the PDP. You had Peter, Labour at the time, and you had Kwankwaso. They fragmented,” Duke said.

Duke Blames Personal Ambitions

The PRP candidate attributed the difficulty of building a united opposition platform partly to what he described as the personal ambitions and “large egos” of leading political figures.

He argued that opposition parties would need to overcome their differences and agree on a common platform if they wanted to mount a stronger challenge against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Using the United States as an example, Duke said the existence of multiple competing opposition platforms could make it easier for the ruling party to retain power.

“We don’t understand what we’re doing. In the United States, which is the system we’ve largely just copied verbatim from, they have two major parties. If you fragmented the Democrats, for instance, into two or three other parties, the Republicans will remain in office forever. That’s what we’re doing,” he said.

Asked directly whether President Tinubu would win in 2027 if Atiku and Obi remained divided, Duke responded, “Absolutely.”

The statement represents Duke’s assessment of the likely political consequences of continued opposition fragmentation and is not an established prediction of the election outcome.

Opposition Still Divided

Duke's comments come amid continuing efforts by opposition politicians to build a common platform ahead of the 2027 election.

Atiku is contesting the presidential election under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), while Obi is the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). Duke is contesting under the PRP. The Independent National Electoral Commission has published the final list of presidential candidates for the election.

Earlier attempts to bring opposition figures together have included meetings involving Atiku, Obi, Kwankwaso, Duke and other political actors. However, efforts to produce a single opposition presidential candidate have faced disagreements over leadership, party structures and individual political ambitions.

The 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027.