Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has predicted that President Bola Tinubu will secure at least 12 million votes in the 2027 presidential election.

Fayose made the prediction on Tuesday while featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he also argued that electoral manipulation had become increasingly difficult.

“Politics is not a tea party. Asiwaju will have 12 million votes. Go and write it down. You know to rig election is now difficult. Very, very difficult,” he said.

Fayose, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is among opposition figures backing Tinubu’s re-election bid despite remaining outside the All Progressives Congress (APC).

His position is similar to that of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who has also declared support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election. Wike said on Tuesday that his support for the President was being channelled through the “Rainbow Coalition”, while maintaining that the PDP could still field candidates for governorship and legislative elections.

Fayose, who was recently appointed chairman of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) board by Tinubu, also dismissed suggestions that the political disagreements surrounding Wike’s Rainbow Coalition could undermine the President’s re-election bid.

He said the disagreement between Wike and some APC governors should instead be viewed within the context of competing political interests, arguing that both sides remained supportive of Tinubu.

The former governor said the critical issue was whether Wike’s political mobilisation could translate into votes for Tinubu, particularly in Rivers State.

“I sincerely don’t want to join issues on these two sides. These are issues of simply everybody exercising their interest in the system,” Fayose said.

He added that if the Rainbow Coalition succeeded in delivering votes for Tinubu in Rivers State, the President would be the ultimate beneficiary.

“If Rainbow works for Wike in Rivers, and it can bring results, that’s all the President wants,” he said.

Fayose said Wike’s political influence could not be ignored, particularly given his previous electoral role in Rivers State, but noted that the FCT minister had not extended the Rainbow initiative to other states in the same manner.

He also played down the possibility that the political differences between Wike and the APC governors would create an opening for opposition parties.

According to him, the two sides might be approaching the issue differently, but their stated objective remained support for Tinubu.

“The Nigerian Governors’ Forum say we are not doing coalition, Wike says do what you have to do in your state. Whatever you feel comfortable with. If you are comfortable without a coalition, go ahead,” he said.

Fayose argued that political strategies that work in one state might not necessarily be applicable in another, adding that political actors would naturally pursue their respective interests ahead of the elections.

He said the disagreement should therefore not be interpreted as evidence of a division over Tinubu’s re-election.

“The method that works for A might not work for B. And this is not even playing to the hands of the opposition, because the two of them are united behind the President,” Fayose said.

His comments came amid renewed debate over Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, which the FCT minister has described as a cross-party platform aimed specifically at mobilising support for Tinubu’s re-election rather than an arrangement to advance the APC’s interests in other elections.

Wike had also said the coalition was separate from the APC and would not prevent the PDP from presenting candidates for other elective positions in 2027.

Fayose maintained that political disagreements were inevitable where competing interests and ambitions existed, stressing that such differences did not necessarily amount to a threat to Tinubu’s re-election campaign.

“Everything works together for good, for the President. Without controversy, you can’t get far. Controversy in itself will help the election,” he said.

He added: “This controversy has nothing to do with the winning of the President. In fact, it makes it much better.”
By Israel Arogbonlo
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