Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has taken a swipe at key opposition figures, including Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, insisting they have “failed Nigeria in the past” and pose no electoral threat to President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Okpebholo made the remarks on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he also defended the Tinubu administration’s performance, saying the president has already secured a second-term advantage.
“President Tinubu has made a landmark for this country, and this election is already as good as won,” he said.
“His work, his policies, are speaking for him.”
Speaking on concerns over rising insecurity in parts of the country, the governor advanced a controversial claim that political opponents are allegedly exploiting and sponsoring violence to undermine the current administration.
According to him, recent cases of kidnappings and killings are being politically driven.
“You know that it is the evil people that are creating this insecurity. The more the president tries to stop them, because the election is coming, they are sponsoring them to come out,” he said.
Pressed further on whether he believed insecurity was politically motivated, Okpebholo responded: “yes, of course”.
He added: “The opposition is using them. Just to make sure that people will say, ‘Ah, this president is not doing well.’ Opposition is the one behind the kidnapping, the killings.”
The Edo governor maintained that Tinubu “must win” the 2027 presidential election, while dismissing concerns that opposition heavyweights could mount a serious challenge.
“Do you know that these people have actually failed this country in the past?” he asked, referring to Obi, Amaechi and others.
When asked if former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar should also be included in that assessment, Okpebholo replied in the affirmative.
He argued that although Atiku served as vice-president during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, he was deeply involved in governance decisions at the time.
Responding to a follow-up question on whether he was suggesting that the current administration had outperformed the Obasanjo era, the governor said, “yes, of course”.
On concerns that a united opposition front ahead of 2027 could threaten Tinubu’s re-election bid, Okpebholo dismissed the possibility, insisting it would collapse under its own weight.
“It’s not dangerous. The Bible says they must gather, but yeah, they will scatter,”
