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The Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Senator Dayo Adeyeye, has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu will secure victory in all 36 states of the federation in the 2027 presidential election. The All Progressives Congress chieftain attributed his prediction to what he described as the achievements of the Tinubu administration and the growing political support for the President across the country.
Adeyeye made the statement while speaking with journalists in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, on Wednesday. He argued that opposition parties, particularly the African Democratic Congress, lacked the political structures and grassroots influence required to mount a serious challenge against the ruling APC.
The former senator, who also chairs the South-West Agenda for Asiwaju, maintained that Tinubu had built a strong political foundation in the South-West and was expanding his support beyond the region. He said the President’s political standing and the policies implemented since assuming office in May 2023 gave the APC reasons to approach the next general election with confidence.
Adeyeye said he had made a similar prediction more than three months earlier and was becoming increasingly convinced that the President could win across the country. He also declared his readiness to campaign in different parts of Nigeria to mobilise support for Tinubu’s second-term ambition.
His remarks add to the growing number of statements by APC leaders and political groups expressing support for the President ahead of the 2027 election. However, the prediction remains the political assessment of an APC chieftain, not an established electoral outcome. The final result will depend on voters, the conduct of the election and the performance of the candidates and political parties during the campaign.
Adeyeye linked his confidence in Tinubu’s re-election prospects to the Federal Government’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market. He argued that the policies had helped address longstanding financial challenges and improved the resources available to state governments.
According to him, increased allocations to state governments have strengthened their capacity to meet obligations such as the payment of salaries, pensions and gratuities. He suggested that the additional resources had enabled some governors to perform better than their predecessors.
The NPA chairman acknowledged that Nigerians were still experiencing economic difficulties but defended the administration’s decision to implement major changes to the country’s economic framework. He argued that Nigeria was already facing an unsustainable fiscal situation before Tinubu became President in May 2023.
Adeyeye pointed to dwindling government resources, fuel scarcity and the rising cost of maintaining the petrol subsidy as some of the problems confronting the country before the reforms. He recalled the prolonged fuel queues and the activities of black-market operators that affected petrol distribution during previous periods.
He maintained that, despite the increase in petrol prices following subsidy removal, Nigerians now had better access to the product without the prolonged scarcity experienced in earlier years. He also argued that changes to the foreign exchange market had improved transparency and reduced opportunities for currency-related arbitrage.
His defence reflects one of the central arguments advanced by supporters of the Tinubu administration: that the reforms were necessary to address structural problems in public finance and the foreign exchange market, even though households and businesses have faced difficult adjustments.
The World Bank has previously acknowledged that the removal of fuel subsidies and foreign exchange reforms addressed important fiscal and market distortions. However, it has also highlighted the difficult adjustments these measures created for Nigerian households and businesses. The economic impact of the reforms therefore remains an important issue likely to feature in discussions about the President’s record before the 2027 election. Punch Newspapers
Adeyeye also cited the Federal Government’s student loan scheme and increased funding for universities as examples of policies he believes could improve access to education and reduce some of the financial pressures facing households.
Drawing on his experience as a former Pro-Chancellor of Ekiti State University, he praised the administration for addressing some of the funding challenges in the university system. He argued that improved funding and remuneration had contributed to greater industrial stability and reduced the disruption caused by recurrent strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
The university sector has experienced repeated disagreements between academic staff unions and successive federal governments over funding, salaries, working conditions and the management of public universities. Adeyeye’s comments suggest that the APC intends to present developments in education and the student loan programme as part of its record ahead of the next presidential election.
On the political strength of the opposition, Adeyeye questioned the ability of the African Democratic Congress to challenge the APC at the national level. He argued that a political party seeking to defeat an incumbent president needed a strong presence across the country, including representation in state governments, the National Assembly and state legislatures.
He pointed to the ADC’s limited political representation as evidence of what he considered its organisational weaknesses. According to him, the party had no governor among Nigeria’s 36 states and did not have the level of legislative representation he believed would be necessary to compete effectively against the ruling party.
Adeyeye also questioned the political support available to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who has been associated with the ADC’s presidential ambition. He specifically referred to Adamawa State, Atiku’s home state, and argued that the former vice-president lacked sufficient backing from prominent political figures there.
He questioned how an opposition candidate could mount a serious challenge against an incumbent president without establishing a strong political base in his home state. These remarks formed part of his broader argument that the ADC had not demonstrated the national structure required to defeat the APC.
However, the strength of a political party cannot be determined solely by the number of governors or legislators it controls. Electoral competition also involves voter support, campaign organisation, political alliances, candidate appeal and the ability to persuade citizens across different regions. The opposition’s position may also change as parties negotiate alliances and strengthen their structures before the election.
The ADC has faced leadership-related legal challenges ahead of the 2027 general election. A Federal High Court in Abuja ruled on November 5, 2026, against the emergence of the David Mark-led national leadership and invalidated decisions taken by the group, including aspects of the process associated with Atiku’s emergence as its presidential candidate.
The party subsequently filed an appeal and sought a stay of execution, asking the Independent National Electoral Commission to suspend further action while the appeal is considered. The dispute has added another issue to the political and legal developments surrounding the party’s preparations for the next general election. Punch Newspapers
Adeyeye’s comments also come amid efforts by the APC to strengthen its political structures ahead of the 2027 presidential contest. The party has continued to engage political stakeholders and supporters in different parts of the country, with the South-West remaining an important region in its mobilisation strategy.
As national chairman of the South-West Agenda for Asiwaju, Adeyeye said the group was established to consolidate Tinubu’s political support in the region. He maintained that a presidential candidate needed a strong base in his home region while also building relationships and support across the rest of the federation.
He described the South-West as an important foundation for Tinubu’s national political ambitions and argued that the President’s support base had expanded beyond the region. Adeyeye’s position reflects the APC’s effort to present its political organisation as a nationwide movement rather than a party dependent on support from one geographical area.
The 2023 presidential election provides the most recent national electoral benchmark for assessing the political parties. Tinubu won that election with 8,794,726 votes, while Atiku Abubakar received 6,984,520 votes and Labour Party candidate Peter Obi polled 6,101,533 votes, according to the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The outcome demonstrated that the presidential contest involved substantial support for multiple candidates across the country. It also showed the importance of regional voting patterns, political alliances and the ability of candidates to attract support beyond their traditional strongholds.
The 2027 election will take place in a different political environment, with the performance of the current administration, the condition of the economy, party structures and the strength of the opposition likely to shape the campaign.
For the APC, the challenge will be to translate the confidence expressed by its leaders into measurable voter support. The party will also need to address public concerns about living costs, employment, security, access to education and the broader effects of the economic reforms.
For opposition parties, the coming months will provide an opportunity to strengthen their organisations, resolve internal disagreements and present their policy alternatives to voters. The extent to which they can build effective political alliances and communicate their programmes will form part of the wider contest.
Adeyeye, however, remains confident that Tinubu will receive enough support to win across all 36 states. He said he was prepared to campaign wherever necessary to promote the President’s re-election bid, insisting that the APC had the political foundation to compete nationally.
His prediction is one of the latest declarations of confidence from a senior APC figure as preparations for the 2027 presidential election continue. Whether the party can achieve the nationwide result he anticipates will ultimately be determined by the choices Nigerians make at the ballot box.
