•Atiku, Tinubu and Peter Obi
As political parties close the curtain on bruising primaries and shifting alliances, Nigeria’s road to the January 16, 2027 presidential election is already shaping up as a familiar clash of heavyweights, ambition, and high-stakes political calculations.
At the centre of the contest for the nation’s highest office is President Bola Tinubu, who secured the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after a landslide victory in the party’s nationwide direct primary conducted across the country’s 8,809 wards in all 774 local government areas, reports Channels TV.
Tinubu polled 10,999,162 votes to defeat his only challenger, businessman Stanley Osifo, who scored 16,503 votes.
Declaring the result in Abuja, Chairman of the APC Presidential Primaries Election Committee, Pius Anyim, said Tinubu had satisfied the requirements of the party’s constitution and guidelines to emerge as candidate for the 2027 general election.
Accepting the nomination, Tinubu thanked party members for their support.
“Thank you all of you. You changed the landscape, looking at the figure that you returned,” the president said.
Major Showdown
The emergence of Tinubu sets up another major showdown with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who clinched the presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The party said Atiku polled 1,846,370 votes to defeat former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, who scored 504,117 votes, while businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen secured 177,120 votes.
Atiku described the exercise as proof that democracy remains alive within the ADC despite challenges confronting opposition politics in the country.
“We demonstrated that while democracy is being strangled and squashed by its ruling party and its operatives, democracy is alive and well in the African Democratic Congress,” he said.
Atiku urged party members to unite and work to pull the country and its people out of the “destructive grip” of Tinubu’s ruling APC.
However, the ADC primary was not without controversy. Amaechi rejected the outcome, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement, while Hayatu-Deen also raised concerns about alleged vote rigging.
Obi’s NDC
Another major figure in the unfolding contest is former Anambra State governor Peter Obi. After initially joining the ADC alongside other opposition figures, Obi later defected to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) with former Kano State governor Musa Kwankwaso.
The NDC has announced plans to adopt affirmation for its presidential primary, a move widely seen as paving the way for Obi to emerge as the party’s candidate. There is also growing speculation that Kwankwaso could emerge as his running mate.
The development raises the possibility of another three-way presidential contest involving Tinubu, Atiku, and Obi, similar to the 2023 election.
Power Contest
In the February 2023 presidential election, Tinubu, under the APC, was declared the winner by INEC, having scored 8.79 million votes (36.61 per cent), ahead of Atiku (PDP) with 6.98 million (29.07 per cent), Obi (Labour Party) with 6.10 million (25.40 per cent), and Kwankwaso (NNPP) with 1.49 million (6.23 per cent).
For the 2027 presidential election, Tinubu, a political strategist, will bank on incumbency and alliances with at least 30 state governors who are members of the ruling APC.
Atiku and Obi enter the 2027 race with different but significant political advantages.
Atiku, a veteran in the presidential race, enjoys political support in the North, especially from serving and former governors and lawmakers. His experience in coalition-building and his well-established nationwide campaign structure built over decades in politics.
Obi’s key strengths are his strong youth and urban support base, the energetic “Obidient” movement, his reputation for prudence and accountability, and his appeal as a symbol of generational and political change.
Other Contenders
Beyond the leading contenders, other parties have also unveiled their candidates.
Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore emerged as the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) during the party’s primary in Abuja.
Accepting the nomination, Sowore described the AAC as
“We are here not only to change the course of history but also to bring revolutionary change,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) announced former Cross River governorship candidate Senator Sandy Onor as its consensus presidential candidate after consultations and voice votes across the states.
As the dust settles from the primaries, Nigeria’s political landscape is once again dominated by familiar names, shifting alliances, and renewed ambitions. With candidates now emerging across party lines, attention is gradually turning from internal contests to what promises to be another defining presidential battle in the country’s democratic journey.
