2027: Lawmaker Says Atiku and Peter Obi Can't Beat Tinubu

Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Navy, Yusuf Gagdi, believes the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will win the 2027 general election. He argues that opposition leaders like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Labour Party candidate Peter Obi lack the political structure needed to defeat President Bola Tinubu.

Gagdi also defended the push for state police. He criticized opposition figures for questioning the timing of this move instead of focusing on how it can help fight insecurity.

Speaking on Tuesday during Politics Today, Gagdi said he is sure that APC is better positioned than any opposition party for the next presidential election.

"I have never, in my political imagination, thought that my party, APC, will lose the election," he stated.

He explained that APC has a strong political presence and grassroots support that outshines any opposition party's efforts.

"You have seen APC’s activities in the last one year across Nigeria, in the four angles of Nigeria where our political activities is 10 times the political activities of any opposition political party in Nigeria," he said.

Gagdi noted that despite talks about possible opposition alliances for the 2027 polls, he has not seen any signs that Atiku or Obi are building a strong enough structure to unseat the current president.

"What are the opposition doing? What are the opposition planning or doing?" he asked.

"I have not seen, with the activities of opposition, those you mentioned, Peter Obi or Atiku, I have not seen any effort being put in place by them to unseat or defeat the President come 2027," he added.

The lawmaker dismissed claims that only opposition politicians are preparing for the next election. He insisted APC is also working hard to win again.

"You think Bola Tinubu and the APC are not trying to win elections in 2027? Atiku and Obi have always been defeated," he said.

Gagdi shared his experience in Plateau State, claiming Obi did not make significant gains in his constituency during past elections.

"Peter Obi, I was in the state assembly in 2015, I was in the National Assembly from 2019 to 2023. I will talk about what I know. He did not win election in Pankshin, Kanke and Kanam," he said.

He pointed out that he won the 2023 election under APC by 31,000 votes, showing the party's strong support in that area.

Beyond politics, Gagdi accused some opposition figures of using Nigeria's security issues for their own gain instead of offering real solutions.

He argued that political leaders should focus on helping to solve insecurity rather than using it to attack the government.

"By the time we keep drifting to a perspective of playing politics with the security and lives of the people of this country, it will be unfortunate," he said.

"We must collectively be patriotic. We must be united against terror."

While recognizing that insecurity is a major issue, Gagdi said the Tinubu administration deserves credit for trying to tackle the problem.

"I will not refuse to tell you here that the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did make efforts towards solving the security problem," he said.

"Promising to fix the security problem and putting effort toward fixing the security problem should be recognized."

He believes that criticism of government actions should aim to improve governance, not just to gain political points.

"We should commend government where government needs to be commended and equally draw a line where government needs to make adjustments," he said.

The lawmaker also discussed the ongoing debate about creating state police. He rejected concerns from some opposition politicians about the timing of the proposal.

He questioned why critics are linking state police to the 2027 elections instead of considering its potential benefits for national security.

"Who is talking about the creation of state policing? Who in his right sense will only analyse the creation of State Police to 2027 election only?" he asked.

"If those people that you called their names are patriotic Nigerians, is it time that is their problem, or the killings?"

Gagdi revealed he had previously opposed state police because earlier proposals lacked proper checks and could lead to abuse by governors.

But he said the current legal framework being discussed in the National Assembly includes measures to ensure accountability and stop political interference.

"I saw the policy framework of the state policing that was intended to be created then as an anarchy," he said.

"But I am privileged to work on the present legal framework that seeks to establish the new State policing under the new Section 214 of the Constitution."

He explained that governors would not have the power to appoint or dismiss state police commissioners under this new plan.

"If before this time you wanted me to support state policing where governors would simply sit in their offices and appoint commissioners of police, I would not support it," he said.

"But today, the legal framework says governors will nominate candidates to the Federal Police Council, which will determine who is fit."

He added that the new framework protects state police commissioners from being fired without good reason.

"The clauses protect the proposed commissioners of police. No governor will sit within the comfort of his office and fire the commissioner of police," he said.

"It means you have protected the person you are appointing."

Gagdi further explained that the state police will work alongside the Nigeria Police Force, not replace it.

"We didn’t scrap the federal police. It still exists. The establishment of state policing doesn’t mean the federal police is going to be scrapped," he said.

He argued that this new structure will encourage state and regional governments to put more money into security and improve responses to local threats.

"With the level of escalation of insecurity in Nigeria, everybody admits there is a problem," he said.

"Now, with the effort to create State Police with a proper legal framework, why are the opposition complaining?"

Gagdi urged political leaders from all parties to focus on protecting lives and property over party politics. He emphasized that security should be a shared national responsibility.

"What can we collectively do to make sure Nigerians sleep and snore? These should be the major things we should be talking about, and this should be what the opposition should be thinking," he said.