- Olujimi believes Tinubu’s connections and long experience make him hard to beat in any presidential contest.
- She said Tinubu has worked with various governments and political actors across Nigeria’s regions.
The former deputy governor of Ekiti State, Senator Biodun Olujimi, has dismissed the chances of Labour Party’s Peter Obi defeating President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
Olujimi described Obi’s strategy during the 2023 elections as rhetorical, stressing that it might no longer resonate with voters in the next election cycle.
She made this known during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme aired on Thursday.
She said, “The rhetoric of the last election will not work again, unless he comes with another gimmick. And you see, this (Tinubu) is a politician, a man who knows the terrain well.”
Olujimi said Tinubu’s political experience and wide network made him a tough contender in any future election.
“This is the first time we are having a dyed-in-the-wool politician as president. He knows his onions; he knows all of us. He has been in the system for a very long time. It’s tough,” she said.
“This is a man who has worked with everyone, who has been useful to everyone, who has had opportunities to assist governments. Beating him? Uphill task.”
Olujimi, who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress, said she joined the ruling party because of its renewed focus under Tinubu’s leadership.
She said, “The APC we talked about in the past, the government that was in power then, is not the current one in power. There is a different APC now.”
“This government is pragmatic. It’s resolute; it’s taking tough decisions and running with the decisions.”
She added that the Tinubu administration had refused to abandon difficult policies despite pushbacks, a move that convinced her to switch camps.
“It’s not like other governments—taking tough decisions and, when people start to complain, dropping it and making them comfortable again, going back to the old ways,” she said.
“Rather, it’s taking the bull by the horns and moving on, and that is what I saw in the new APC. I am telling you that it is this government that made me join the APC, not any other.”
Olujimi also criticised the Peoples Democratic Party for failing to live up to expectations as an opposition party after its defeat in 2023.
She said the PDP continued to behave as if it was still in power, instead of presenting an alternative political agenda.
The former lawmaker also dismissed rumours linking her to the African Democratic Congress, describing the party as lacking grassroots presence in Ekiti.
She said the ADC had no real structures at the local and state levels, making any alliance with the party unrealistic.