The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo SAN, has dismissed the possibility of a political coalition succeeding in unseating President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general elections, describing such efforts as “impossible.”
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, April 28, Keyamo characterised the coalition plans by some political elites as “a storm in a teacup” that would not survive the strength of the All Progressives Congress (APC) structure.
There is no tsunami coming,” Keyamo declared. “I think it’s a storm in a teacup. I respect these people, but if you look at the political history of Nigeria… I have campaigned for two presidents, so I have knowledge of the demography. It is impossible for you to do a coalition now to unseat the present President (Tinubu).”
Keyamo was responding to remarks made by Labour Party chieftain Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed and other northern figures, including former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai and former vice president Atiku Abubakar, who have hinted at forming an opposition coalition. Baba-Ahmed had accused the Tinubu administration of overseeing widespread rot and urged Nigerians to seek alternatives in 2027. Some elements within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have also been rumoured to be exploring a merger, although several PDP governors have distanced themselves from the idea. Former Ekiti State governor Ayo Fayose described the coalition discussions as “a dead horse” and “a waste of time.”
When asked if the APC could withstand the alleged political “tsunami,” Keyamo insisted the coalition talks were either misguided or too late. “There are two different things they are talking about — a merger or an alliance. They should be very clear. If it’s a merger, forget it, because it’s too late to start a merger now,” he said. “With the process you have to go through — to register, get a new identity and all that — and with elections just around the corner by next year’s end, it is not feasible.”
Keyamo pointed to historical precedent, recalling that after the 2011 elections, President Tinubu had swiftly initiated merger talks with then-General Muhammadu Buhari, a process that took years of negotiation and coordination. “The moment we lost the 2011 elections, Tinubu flew to Kaduna and met General (Muhammadu) Buhari. It was a long process before the APC was birthed. These people (current coalition proponents) are not experienced enough,” he said.
“The President you are seeing now has gone through all of these, so he is just smiling and looking at all of them; he understands,” Keyamo added.
Addressing the influence of mass movements, particularly the Obidient movement associated with Peter Obi in the 2023 elections, Keyamo said, “The Labour Party was built around him and the Obidient movement. Go back to history — even Chief (Obafemi) Awolowo and Dr (Nnamdi) Azikiwe, despite being heroes, could not transcend the complexities of Nigerian elections without structures.”
He dismissed the notion of a rising wave of youth mobilisation threatening Tinubu’s re-election chances. “Under what platform?” he queried. “Did you see what happened in the 2023 elections? Despite the naira redesign policy and petroleum scarcity that were against our party, the structures of the APC held firm. It was like a house built on solid rock,” he said.
Keyamo further noted that President Tinubu enjoys “more friends in the North than in the South-West,” a factor he believes will again prove decisive in the forthcoming election. Following the recent defection of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to the APC, Keyamo revealed he had surrendered party leadership in the state to the governor.
“Whether I have to make sacrifices like yesterday where we surrendered (party leadership in Delta), it is all irrelevant so long as we are strengthening APC the more for the re-election of Mr President,” he said.
