The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has hinted on why it is not possible to unseat President Bola Tinubu through coalition in the 2027 general elections, describing such a move as impossible.
Keyamo, who stated this on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, said the much-touted coalition plans by some political elite amounted to a storm in a teacup and would not withstand the strength of the structure of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
“There is no tsunami coming. 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),” he said.
The minister was reacting to comments made by a Labour Party chieftain, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, and other northern elite, including a former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, who have hinted at forming an opposition coalition.
Baba-Ahmed had accused the Tinubu administration of presiding over widespread rot, urging Nigerians to look elsewhere in 2027.
In the same vein, some people within the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were rumoured to be considering a merger.
However, several PDP governors have publicly distanced themselves from the idea.
Media Talk Africa recalls that a former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, described the coalition talks as a dead horse and a waste of time.
Keyamo, when asked if Tinubu’s APC could withstand the alleged political “tsunami” being mobilised against it, insisted that coalition talks were either misguided or too late in the day.
“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 explained.
He recalled how, after the 2011 elections, President Tinubu had swiftly initiated merger talks with then-General Muhammadu Buhari, a process he said took years of negotiations, back-and-forth meetings, and conventions.
