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Kenneth Okonkwo has warned that Peter Obi’s decision to contest the 2027 presidential election outside a broader opposition coalition could inadvertently strengthen President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
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The former Labour Party chieftain was particularly blunt about Obi’s chances, declaring that if the former Anambra State governor confronts Tinubu alone, “Tinubu will eat him like biscuits.”
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He also questioned Obi’s ability to significantly improve his northern support and dismissed Rabiu Kwankwaso’s capacity to deliver the electoral advantage being associated with the proposed Obi-Kwankwaso ticket.
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Okonkwo’s warning comes as the opposition struggles to resolve its biggest strategic dilemma: whether Atiku Abubakar, Obi and other major contenders can subordinate their presidential ambitions to a single candidate.
September 04, (THEWILL) — A former Labour Party chieftain and spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign, Kenneth Okonkwo, has delivered one of the strongest warnings yet over the consequences of a divided opposition in the 2027 presidential election.
He declared that voting for Peter Obi outside a broader alliance could ultimately help President Bola Tinubu secure another term.
Okonkwo, who spoke in an interview with Ibeju Upgrade Media, said the opposition’s only realistic route to defeating the incumbent was to unite behind a single presidential candidate capable of bringing together the different political, regional and voter constituencies currently spread across rival parties.
His intervention comes amid renewed efforts by opposition parties and political groups to construct a common platform against the All Progressives Congress (APC), even as the leading opposition figures remain divided over who should fly the presidential ticket.
“Coalition is the only way out,” Okonkwo said.
In his assessment of Obi’s prospects should the former Anambra State governor contest Tinubu without such an arrangement, Okonkwo said:
“So, if Peter Obi goes against Tinubu alone, Tinubu will eat him like biscuits.”
‘Vote For Obi, Re-Elect Tinubu’
Okonkwo’s latest comments sharpen an increasingly bitter dispute within the opposition over whether individual candidates should retain their presidential ambitions or make concessions in the interest of producing a single candidate.
Earlier in June, Okonkwo argued that opposition parties needed to unite behind one candidate rather than repeat the fragmentation that characterised the 2023 presidential contest.
Supporting his argument with electoral arithmetic, Okonkwo recalled that in 2023, Tinubu secured 8,794,726 votes to defeat Atiku, who scored 6,984,520, while Obi polled 6,101,533. Kwankwaso received 1,496,687 votes.
“Thus, Atiku and Obi alone collectively secured more than 13 million votes — substantially above Tinubu’s total — while Kwankwaso’s votes further expanded the pool of voters who opposed the APC candidate.
“But the votes were distributed across four separate presidential tickets,” he said, declaring that the fragmentation meant that the opposition’s aggregate numerical strength could not be converted into a single presidential victory.
“The same concern now hangs over the 2027 contest”, he added.
Obi is running under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), while Atiku is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Obi has also been paired with Kwankwaso, creating another major opposition axis outside the Atiku-led arrangement.
The result is an opposition landscape in which several politicians who previously sought to work together are now positioned as potential competitors.
For Okonkwo, that is precisely the scenario that could benefit Tinubu.
Okonkwo Questions Obi’s Northern Reach
The former Labour Party spokesman also challenged the assumption that Obi could overcome his northern electoral limitations through a strong running mate.
He specifically pointed to Kano State, traditionally one of the country’s most politically influential states and Kwankwaso’s strongest base.
“Will Kano people accept Peter Obi? In 2023, when we had the opportunity, they did not accept him. In 2027, they will not accept him,” Okonkwo said.
He was equally dismissive of Kwankwaso’s electoral value.
“Kwankwaso has nothing to contribute to the ticket. Even in Kano, Kwankwaso has lost,” he said.
But the 2023 figures show why Kano remains important to the debate.
Kwankwaso won Kano in 2023 and secured 1,496,687 votes nationally, most of which came from his northern base. Obi, by contrast, dominated the South-East and performed strongly in parts of the South-South, but struggled to secure the level of northern support required to emerge as a nationwide front-runner.
Opposition Coalition Hits Fresh Hurdles
Okonkwo’s comments come as efforts to build a united opposition front have entered another delicate phase.
The G100 Opposition Coalition recently brought representatives of six opposition parties together in Abuja to begin laying the groundwork for cooperation ahead of the 2027 election.
The parties represented included the ADC, NDC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The initiative seeks to establish a framework through which opposition parties could cooperate and potentially produce a common presidential candidate capable of challenging the APC.
The group has also proposed a four-year transition programme and a broader “government of national competence.”
However, the absence of Atiku and Obi from the latest G100 summit exposed the fundamental difficulty confronting the initiative.
Both men are among the most prominent opposition politicians in the country, yet neither attended the meeting designed to advance the single-candidate project.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
