Former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has declared that Peter Obi has already lost the 2027 presidential election, arguing that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has studied the former Anambra governor’s political strategy and is prepared for another contest.
Fayose made the claim during an interview with TVC News, where he argued that the political environment that helped Obi make a strong showing in the 2023 presidential election has changed.
According to Fayose, political actors have now had the opportunity to study how Obi campaigned in 2023 and are better prepared to counter his strategy in the next election.
“Everybody has seen the hands of Peter Obi in 2023, they are prepared for him now. Everybody has seen Obi’s strategy,” Fayose said, according to the statement supplied for the interview.
His assessment comes as Nigeria’s presidential campaign season officially gets underway.
The 2027 election is already shaping up as a contest involving President Bola Tinubu and a fragmented opposition, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi among the major opposition figures.
The political landscape is significantly different from 2023.
The opposition has spent much of the period since the last election discussing possible alliances, with different parties and political figures exploring ways to prevent another APC victory.
The fragmentation of the opposition remains one of the major issues surrounding the 2027 contest.
Associated Press reported as campaigning began on Wednesday that Tinubu faces a fractured opposition despite widespread public dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of economic and security challenges.
Reuters similarly reported that Tinubu’s re-election campaign is beginning against a backdrop of economic hardship and insecurity, with opposition figures attempting to capitalise on public frustration.
That environment gives greater context to Fayose’s argument.
Obi’s 2023 campaign significantly altered the traditional structure of Nigeria’s presidential contest.
Running on the Labour Party platform, he attracted particularly strong support among younger voters and won 6.1 million votes, finishing third nationally.
His performance also demonstrated that a candidate outside the traditional APC-PDP rivalry could become a major force in a presidential election.
Fayose’s argument is that political opponents have now had four years to understand that strategy.
But his claim that Obi has already “lost” the 2027 election remains a political prediction, not an established electoral outcome.
The election has not yet been held.
Campaigns have only just begun, and voters’ preferences can change substantially before election day.
The strength of Fayose’s argument will therefore depend on whether the APC can actually translate its knowledge of Obi’s previous campaign into a successful electoral strategy.
For Obi, the challenge is equally clear.
He must demonstrate that the political coalition and voter enthusiasm that powered his 2023 campaign can survive into a new election cycle while adapting to a significantly different political environment.
The 2027 contest is therefore likely to test not only candidates but also the ability of political parties to learn from the last election.
Fayose believes the APC has already done so.
The ballot box will ultimately determine whether that assessment proves correct.