Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, a leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says that President Bola Tinubu knows that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would have a hard time getting 20% of the votes in a really free and fair election.
Olawepo-Hashim revealed this while being interviewed on Channels Television last night.
“If the APC could brag about having about 32 governors, they should be happy to hold free and fair elections.” They should be delighted to send the results from the polling places to the IReV. “Why are they scared if PDP is dead?” he wondered.
The PDP leader said that the ruling party’s supposed unwillingness to fully support election openness shows that it is worried about how popular it is.
“If the opposition is dead and buried, why are they scared of fair and free elections?” The APC is scared.
“All the propagandists can praise President Tinubu as a strategist, but he is not a fool. Olawepo-Hashim stated, “He has done the polls, and he knows that in a free and fair election, the APC cannot get 20 percent of the vote.”
He said that even if the PDP has problems and people leaving, it is still the most competitive political party in Nigeria.
“PDP is the most competitive, which is why so many people are trying to bring it down.” “Those who think it is destroyed are just fooling themselves,” the former presidential contender added.
He said that problems within the APC might also hurt the party before the 2027 elections.
“Even in their own party, they know who is waiting to stab them in the back. He said, “They have more problems than the PDP.”
The PDP leader said that political defections were caused by what he called “elite opportunism” instead of real support from the people.
“The political elite in Nigeria is exceedingly selfish. They want to stay where the pie is. But the people at the bottom are more honest. He said, “When governors jump, the grassroots don’t always follow.”
Olawepo-Hashim said that it was wrong to celebrate the fact that Nigeria’s opposition parties are getting weaker under the country’s democratic system.
“Anyone who is happy about the end of multi-party democracy should have their skulls knocked.
He said, “What the PDP needs is a joint NEC and convention, not factions.” He also said that the party is seeing “huge digital registration,” which he thinks means it is far from over.
His words come at a time when political maneuvering and alignments are getting more intense in the run-up to the 2027 general elections. Both the government and opposition parties are making plans for what is expected to be a very competitive race.
Moves in 2027, elections in 2023
INEC said that Tinubu won the presidential election in February 2023 as a member of the APC.
He got 8.79 million votes (36.61%), which was more than Atiku Abubakar (PDP) with 6.98 million (29.07%), Peter Obi (Labour Party) with 6.10 million (25.40%), and Rabiu Kwankwaso (NNPP) with 1.49 million (6.23%).
Tinubu also met the constitutional threshold by getting at least 25% of the votes in 30 states. Tinubu, Atiku, and Obi each won 12 states, however Kwankwaso only won Kano State.
As of March 2026, work is already underway for the 2027 election. APC officials have given their support for Tinubu to run again, while opposition politicians are talking about forging a coalition to run against him.
Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso have talked about working together, but Atiku Abubakar is still a major opposition leader.
There are also rumors that Goodluck Jonathan, a former president, would run. Others who have been suggested are Seyi Makinde and Rotimi Amaechi.
Some groups who are against the government are thinking of using the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a united platform.
The APC has grown stronger since 2023 and now controls 31 of the 36 states. This is because many members of the PDP and other parties have left. A lot of governors and lawmakers have joined the APC.
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