Katchi Ononuju, Director General of the Heritage Centre, has warned that the opposition coalition formed to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections is unlikely to succeed, believing the coalition lacks unity, strength, and a clear vision to convince Nigerians, as reported by DAILY POST.
Ononuju explained that many governors moving to the All Progressives Congress (APC) are not doing so because they support its policies.
Instead, they are reacting to growing insecurity in the country and linked this insecurity to armed conflicts from the Sahel region, which he says have now entered Nigeria and created fear among political leaders.
He pointed out that this fear is pushing southern governors to align with the APC, which they see as a safer option in uncertain times.
In the North, he noted, there is growing division among political groups, especially after former President Muhammadu Buhari’s long rule, which left many regions feeling excluded.
According to Ononuju, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lost direction.
He said the party failed to respect power-sharing through zoning and did not allow other regions to have a fair chance at leadership.
This failure, he explained, caused major politicians like Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso to leave.
He added that many southern leaders now prefer Tinubu to another leader from the Fulani ethnic group, fearing domination.
Even if they disagree with Tinubu’s leadership, they see it as a better option than returning power to the same group that held it under Buhari.
Ononuju believes the coalition cannot win public support without addressing the key issues of insecurity and power imbalance.
He sees the shift toward the APC as a result of these deep concerns, not a vote of confidence in the party.
“Now, you need to understand that there is a war on, and we are not going to pretend that everything is okay. That is why you are seeing most of those governors in the South, in Akwa Ibom coming to Tinubu’s party; in Anambra likely to come to Tinubu’s party; in Rivers likely to come to Tinubu’s party; the same thing in Delta State. It’s a historical shift. But what is driving the shift?”
“If the Fulanis are refusing to share power, insisting that it must be them, then the rest of the South would rather Tinubu rules forever than let it happen. This is where we are, so leave the coalition talk, coalition for who? We are not going to allow the perpetration of settler colonialism, it’s not going to work,” he said.
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