Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who represents Abia South Senatorial District, has declared that President Bola Tinubu will not secure a second term in the 2027 presidential election, citing widespread hardship and growing public discontent across the country.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, December 15, Abaribe dismissed claims that Tinubu has never lost an election, insisting that the president would be defeated when Nigerians return to the polls.

“I do not think so. Everybody loses elections, and you will see when the time comes. He will lose in 2027 because I know what Nigerians are feeling outside,” Abaribe said.

The senator went further to question the legitimacy of Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election, alleging that the president did not genuinely win but was nonetheless declared the winner.

“Tinubu never won the 2023 election, and everybody knows it. But we said fine, he has been declared the winner, no problem. We acknowledge him as president, but we are going to meet him in the field,” he said.

Abaribe added that the opposition accepted the outcome at the time but would be better prepared for the next election, insisting that the circumstances surrounding the last poll would not be repeated.

“It won’t work because this time everybody will be ready. It will no longer be an announcement at 3 a.m. before people wake up in the morning. This time, people are ready — we are ready, and the masses are even more ready,” he stated.

The lawmaker also criticised the current administration over economic hardship and insecurity, questioning where Tinubu would find sufficient support to secure another term.

Addressing the recent wave of defections from opposition parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abaribe ruled out any possibility of joining the party.

“If there is anybody who is going to defect to the APC, I think I should be the very, very last one. By the time I defect, it would mean there are no parties left in Nigeria, including the APC,” he said.

He argued that the defections would not strengthen the ruling party but instead deepen its internal crises, adding that the opposition stood to benefit from the situation.

“I have a very simple theory about defections. I think it is very good for us in the opposition that these defections are happening. All the APC is doing is absorbing all the problems it is going to face; they are right inside the party now,” Abaribe said.

The senator described the APC as a fragile political structure and reaffirmed his commitment to the opposition coalition, which has adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its platform for the 2027 election. He dismissed claims that the coalition was formed solely to advance any single presidential aspirant, insisting that opposition leaders remain united in their goal of removing the APC from power.