•2027: ‘Hungry Nigerians, not the opposition, will give Tinubu sleepless nights’ By Luminous Jannamike, Abuja Few opposition figures have witnessed Nigeria’s political twists and realignments from as close a vantage point as Kola Ologbondiyan. A former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he now serves as Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, placing him at the centre of fresh efforts to forge a formidable opposition ahead of the 2027 general election. In this interview, Ologbondiyan speaks on the prospects of a united opposition, the PDP’s lingering crisis, the ADC’s mission, and why he believes President Bola Tinubu’s biggest political test in 2027 will come not from rival parties, but from millions of Nigerians battling economic hardship. Excerpts: Kola Ologbondiyan You spent years shaping the PDP’s public communication. Looking at where the opposition stands today, with the ADC and NDC pulling in different directions, do you still believe, it can mount a credible challenge to President Tinubu before the January 2027 election? I strongly believe so. And my belief is based on the decision reached at the meeting held in Ibadan among all the opposition political parties to look at that proposed grand alliance. The decision reached by the majority of the opposition parties was that, at the nick of time, they were going to pull together. I believe that the opposition political parties are going to realign and work in the direction of rescuing our nation from the path of perdition into which it is gradually drifting. When Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso left the ADC coalition in May, what really went wrong? Was it a clash of personalities or disagreement over zoning or were there deeper issues Nigerians still don’t know about? I think when the decision was taken to leave the ADC, my reading was that the decision was arrived at in a hurry. And I said this publicly because no point had been reached in the discussion to arrive at the position of leaving the alliance. And that is why I still believe that the opposition, if it can read the game properly, still has the opportunity for the grand alliance which the Ibadan meeting projected. So, you think there is no real danger that both Atiku Abubakar and Obi/Kwankwaso camps will split the opposition vote again, just as happened in 2023? What I’m saying, essentially, is that at the point at which the camps of Peter Obi as well as Kwankwaso left the coalition, no decision had been reached to warrant their departure. Because talks were still ongoing. I’ve also said that the best decision that can rescue our nation today is a government of national unity. And that this government of national unity was a disposition which the opposition political parties were working towards when they arrived at the Ibadan coalition’s decision, which is that all the political parties must come together, have one candidate, and work together. And I’m saying that I do not believe, I don’t want to say, that that decision has been foreclosed. I don’t want to say or hold on to the notion that that decision is dead. I believe that if the opposition political parties are determined to rescue this nation, the best approach is for all opposition political parties to pull together. The PDP has elected a new national leadership this year? In your assessment, does the party still have the reach and strength to compete nationally? Do you think the PDP has lost too much ground? I think my worry about the PDP is, I know you talked about the PDP today, but which PDP are you talking about? I think that is the challenge that I have. And I say so essentially because the role of the PDP was to serve as an opposition political party after losing power in 2015. But can we, with every sense of responsibility, say that the PDP as we have it now will serve that same purpose? I think the answer is no. And I want to leave it at that. Many Nigerians argue that opposition parties become vocal only when elections are around the corner. But after the elections, everybody seems to go back to their various cocoons. Why has the opposition struggled to sustain pressure on the government over the economy, insecurity and the cost-of-living crisis? I give it to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition. Since it came onto the political scene about a year ago, I think the party spokesman Bolaji Abdullahi has been consistent in holding the government in power to its responsibilities. So I think that, moving forward, even if the party continues in that line, irrespective of what the disposition is after the 2027 election, I think it should emerge as a political party that has focus, that has determination, and that is going to serve the interests of Nigerians. Both the ADC and NDC are still facing legal disput
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