2027: To Rig Election Is Now Very Difficult – Ayo Fayose
Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said rigging elections has become increasingly difficult in Nigeria, while predicting that President Bola Tinubu will secure 12 million votes in the 2027 presidential election.
Fayose, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who is supporting the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, made the remarks on Tuesday night during an appearance on Channels Television.
The former governor said the 2027 presidential election would be determined by votes, stressing that manipulating the electoral process had become difficult.
“Politics is not a tea party. Asiwaju will have 12 million votes. Go and write it down.
“You know, to rig elections is now difficult. Very difficult,” Fayose said.
He also expressed confidence that Tinubu would defeat former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, even if both opposition politicians joined forces ahead of the 2027 election.
According to him, the opposition could face further challenges if it remains divided, as votes could be shared among several presidential candidates.
“It’s a three-way horse, maybe I am not putting it right. Atiku is there, Obi is there. Even if they come together, this man (Tinubu) will still defeat them.
“But let us say they don’t come together, too bad for them because this election will be balkanised,” he said.
Fayose also spoke about the expected voting pattern in the South-West, saying the region would be significant to Tinubu’s electoral calculations.
He further argued that Tinubu represented what he described as the shortest route for political power to return to the North after the South’s expected eight-year tenure.
Fayose was recently appointed by President Tinubu as Chairman of the Board of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
Before his appointment, the former Ekiti governor had publicly endorsed Tinubu for a second term in office ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Fayose also cited what he described as improvements in infrastructure and the economy under the Tinubu administration as reasons for his support for the President.