President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday said former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State governor Peter Obi had no credible alternatives to offer Nigerians ahead of the 2027 presidential election, challenging the opposition figures to present concrete plans for addressing the country’s challenges.
Tinubu, who insisted that both opposition leaders had failed to present convincing alternatives to his administration’s policies, made the remarks through the Vice-President, Kashim Shettima, at the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential rally in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Shettima highlighted the achievements of the Tinubu administration over the past three and a half years.
He noted that the APC had continued to enjoy solidarity and support from various states, including Ekiti, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi and Jigawa, describing the development as an indication of growing political cooperation within the party.
He also criticised the opposition’s campaign approach, observing that much of its activity appeared to be concentrated on social media platforms, particularly Facebook.
The Vice-President further questioned Atiku’s political standing in his home state, pointing to reported disagreements among former governors and other political stakeholders as evidence of divisions within his political camp.
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👉 JOIN GISTSMATE WHATSAPP CHANNELHe said, “Atiku Abubakar has been unable to achieve consensus even in his own Adamawa State. So, someone who cannot unite his own state, I wonder how he is going to unite and drive the nation.”
Shettima also described Obi’s performance as governor of Anambra State as mediocre, challenging the former governor to demonstrate his achievements in public office.
He questioned Obi’s political credentials, arguing that his appeal should be measured against tangible achievements and practical solutions to the country’s challenges rather than statistics and social media popularity.
According to him, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate relied on questionable statistics and data-driven narratives rather than presenting concrete achievements and verifiable records of performance.
“Peter Obi, in spite of all his pretensions about the knowledge of the economy, his performance as the governor of Anambra State was mediocre,” the Vice-President said.
Shettima subsequently challenged opposition politicians to present their records of achievement during the country’s 25 years of democratic governance.
“I challenge them to come out and tell us specifically their major accomplishments in the past 25 years of democratic governance in this country,” he said.
Defending President Tinubu’s re-election bid, Shettima expressed confidence in the APC’s growing political momentum, describing the party’s rallies across several states as evidence of increasing support for the President.
Reflecting on the party’s campaign activities, he described the turnout in Ondo as a decisive show of political strength.
The Vice-President expressed appreciation to Ondo residents for their massive turnout, while commending Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and other APC leaders for supporting Tinubu’s ambition.
He said, “For the people of Ondo, as we are talking, there is a universal elite consensus backing the President here in Ondo.”
He named former Ondo State governor Dr Olusegun Mimiko and former governorship candidate Chief Olusola Oke among the prominent figures supporting Tinubu’s ambition.
Shettima also cited the alignment of Gboyega Adefarati, son of a former Ondo governor and member representing Akoko South-East and Akoko South-West Federal Constituency, as evidence of the APC’s growing political consolidation in the state.
In Anambra, he said former governors Chris Ngige, Chinwoke Mbadinuju and Willie Obiano, alongside incumbent Governor Charles Soludo, were not aligned with Obi, the former Labour Party presidential candidate.
According to Shettima, Ondo State, with approximately 2.116 million registered voters, should deliver at least 1.2 million votes for Tinubu in the forthcoming election.
He urged party members to sustain their mobilisation efforts, saying, “We hope that the minimum votes we expect from Ondo is 1.2 million.”
Speaking earlier, Aiyedatiwa pledged to deliver one million votes for Tinubu and thanked the President for what he described as progressive policies and interventions in the state.
Aiyedatiwa, who declared Ondo’s commitment to the President’s second-term ambition, said the state voted massively for Tinubu in 2023 because of his leadership, progressive credentials and record as a former Lagos State governor. He added that Ondo recorded the highest percentage of votes for him nationwide.
Aiyedatiwa said Tinubu had justified the confidence reposed in him through reforms introduced since assuming office in May 2023, whose benefits, he noted, had extended to the grassroots.
He thanked the President for appointing three ministers from Ondo: the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Minister of Youth and the Minister of Interior.
Describing the rally as a demonstration of Ondo’s resolve to secure Tinubu’s re-election, Aiyedatiwa said participants would return to their local governments, wards and polling units to mobilise residents and publicise the President’s achievements.
“We will all go to the mountains, to the hills and everywhere to tell the people about your re-election,” he said.
He urged Tinubu to count on the support of Ondo residents, expressed confidence that the state would deliver the promised votes and prayed for God’s continued protection of the President.
Also speaking, APC National Chairman Prof Nentawe Yilwatda described Tinubu as the most experienced, exposed, prepared and competent among the 18 presidential candidates presented by political parties.
He said the President was fearless and had confronted Nigeria’s economic challenges, noting that more than 31 states that could not pay salaries when he assumed office could now meet their obligations.
Yilwatda insisted that the APC had the most competent and prepared candidate for the country’s defining moment before inviting Shettima to represent the President at the rally.
The Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign and former Zamfara State governor, Abdulazeez Yari, said Tinubu had demonstrated exceptional commitment to Ondo through political appointments and other benefits.
“These five positions are equivalent to about 10 ministers in Ondo,” Yari said.
He said the President had extended such consideration to the state despite its not being an oil-producing state, citing infrastructure provisions, the nine per cent allocation and cash transfer arrangements arising from the review of the relevant programme.
Yari urged Aiyedatiwa and other APC leaders to intensify mobilisation, stressing that the party was seeking millions of votes from Ondo to widen Tinubu’s national electoral margin.
“We are not looking for Asiwaju to win in Ondo State. We are looking for Asiwaju to get millions of votes that will give the margin for the presidency,” he said.
He called on youths, women and elderly residents to turn out en masse on election day.
Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum and Secretary of the Presidential Campaign Council, Governor Hope Uzodimma, urged eligible voters to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of the election.
He said Ondo had 2.4 million registered voters, but only 1.4 million had collected their cards, leaving nearly one million uncollected at INEC offices.
Uzodimma urged residents to retrieve their cards to qualify to vote and called on APC leaders and supporters to embrace unity, teamwork and sacrifice.
Describing Ondo as Tinubu’s political home, he urged residents to put aside their grievances and vote massively for the President and his running mate.
In his goodwill message, former Edo State governor Senator Adams Oshiomhole urged Nigerians, particularly youths, to support Tinubu’s re-election, arguing that the country needed statesmen rather than petty traders in politics.
He praised Tinubu for appointing competent people to key positions, citing the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy as evidence of the President’s confidence in the intellectual capacity of Nigerians.
Oshiomhole said the administration had continued to invest in roads and railways, while the Federal Government had approved an additional N70,000 for federal civil servants to improve their purchasing power.
He said Tinubu was also committed to job creation and tackling the power crisis, promising a radical review of the sector in his second term, with plans to double electricity generation and resolve transmission challenges.
Challenging youths to compare the time required to establish a factory or refinery with that needed to set up a shopping mall, Oshiomhole argued that Obi’s business orientation was unsuitable for long-term development.
He also criticised import-dependent businesses, saying their operators lacked the moral standing to lecture Nigerians on job creation.
Former Ondo State governor Dr Olusegun Mimiko pledged to work with other leaders to deliver votes for Tinubu and all APC senatorial and House of Representatives candidates.
Mimiko commended Tinubu for building political consensus among the country’s political elite on major national issues, including the proposed establishment of state police.
He, however, cautioned that state police would not automatically eliminate insecurity, just as economic reforms could not resolve every challenge overnight. However, he maintained that the country was on the right path.
Also, APC chieftain Chief Olusola Oke, SAN, said Ondo leaders were indebted to Tinubu for projects and political appointments, pledging to work towards delivering the one million votes.
He dismissed social media propaganda against the party and expressed confidence in APC leaders’ ability to unite members and mobilise support for the President.
Senate Leader Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele urged APC leaders in Ondo to rally behind Aiyedatiwa, the state campaign coordinator, to secure Tinubu’s re-election, insisting that the state must deliver at least one million votes.
Bamidele disclosed that Tinubu had personally given him two messages for the rally, stressing that the January 16 election would cover the presidency and National Assembly, not the governorship.
He said Aiyedatiwa was the sole state campaign coordinator but must remain accessible to all party leaders.
He called for the inclusion of Chief Mrs Oladunni Odu, Isaacs Kekemeke, Olusola Oke, Wale Akinterinwa and Dr Olusegun Mimiko in the campaign, maintaining that unity would make the one-million-vote target achievable.
Bamidele cited Tinubu’s appointment of three ministers and two ambassadors from Ondo, including Nigeria’s representatives to the United Nations and Russia, saying the appointments should translate into votes for the President.
Also speaking, the State Chairman of the Progressive Mandate Forum (PMF), Chief Demola Ijabiyi, expressed confidence that President Tinubu would secure more than one million votes in the state in the 2027 presidential election.
Ijabiyi described the enthusiastic reception at the Akure Township Stadium as a demonstration of the party’s grassroots presence and support across the state, insisting that the crowd reflected the APC’s growing political mobilisation in Ondo.
He said the Progressive Mandate Forum would intensify its grassroots engagement, mobilisation and voter sensitisation across the 18 local government areas to strengthen the party’s support base ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He maintained that the Forum would work closely with APC leaders and other progressive stakeholders to sustain the momentum generated by the rally and translate it into electoral support.
He also reaffirmed the group’s commitment to President Tinubu’s re-election campaign, expressing confidence in the party’s ability to mobilise supporters across Ondo State.
Those in attendance included the Minister of Finance, Mr Taiwo Oyedele; Minister of Interior, Hon Bunmi Tunji-Ojo; Minister of Youth, Hon Ayodele Olawande; and member representing Akoko North-East/North-West Federal Constituency, Hon Ifeoluwa Ehindero.
Others included members of the State Executive Council, members of the Ondo State House of Assembly, APC candidates and chieftains, local government chairmen, political appointees, artisans, support groups, Iyalajes and Iyalojas, and youths, among others.
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