Keyamo claimed that President Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) maintain strong political structures across the northern region, giving them a strategic advantage in future elections.
President Bola Tinubu’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has downplayed the chances of opposition figures like Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi making significant inroads in northern Nigeria ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking during a televised interview on Sunday, Keyamo claimed that President Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) maintain strong political structures across the northern region, giving them a strategic advantage in future elections.
He argued that the political terrain in the North remains largely favourable to the APC, which, according to him, has deep-rooted networks that opposition candidates would find difficult to overcome.
Keyamo also dismissed the recently announced opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), suggesting it lacks the capacity to challenge the dominance of the APC on a national scale.
According to Keyamo, “They are going nowhere in terms of demography.
“I like what is happening; they are putting us on our toes; it is going to make us work harder, but the numbers are not looking good for them.
“This so-called ADC, in 2027, what they are working on is to bring Peter Obi and Atiku (Abubakar) together to join those numbers and beat our over eight million votes.
“Let me tell you why it is wrong. If you make Peter Obi the deputy to Atiku, three demographic factors delivered Peter Obi in 2023, but the three will collapse.”
Keyamo outlined three factors he believed played in Obi’s favour during the 2023 election.“The other candidates were Muslims, and so there was only one Christian candidate, and the Christians went to one candidate.”
“The South-East felt cheated, so the South-East went to one point because of the Igbo man.
“And the third demography: the Obidients, young Nigerians who felt they were angry, they wanted a younger person and all of that because the other candidates were older than him (Obi).
“If you put Peter Obi this time as president, he cannot penetrate the north. We have our structures in the north. We have governors and our structures in the north,” he added.
President Tinubu, who defeated his closest challengers—Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party—in the 2023 general election, took office in May 2023 and is now seeking re-election in 2027.
His bid aims to fulfill Nigeria’s informal tradition of rotating presidential power between the North and South over an eight-year cycle.
Before Tinubu, the presidency was held by late Muhammadu Buhari, a retired general from the North-West, who served from May 2015 to May 2023.
However, as the 2027 elections approach, discussions around an inter-party alliance reached a turning point on Wednesday, July 2, 2025.
On that day, key opposition figures—including Atiku, Obi, former Senate President David Mark, former ministers Rauf Aregbesola and Rotimi Amaechi, and former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai—rallied behind the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the unified platform to challenge Tinubu.
The move comes amid widespread criticism of Tinubu’s administration, which has been accused of economic mismanagement, soaring inflation, and a record-high cost of living.
The opposition coalition is counting on the strong showing of Atiku and Obi in the 2023 election.
Together, the two candidates secured over 12 million votes—more than four million above the total votes officially credited to Tinubu by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), despite his eventual declaration as the winner.
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