A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Dan Ulasi has said it will take extraordinary efforts to defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
Ulasi described Tinubu as one of Nigeria’s most strategic politicians, warning opposition parties against underestimating his political strength ahead of the next presidential election.
He spoke on Friday while fielding questions on Arise Television’s Morning Show.
The PDP chieftain recalled that he had warned in 2023 that any politician who took Tinubu for granted would do so at their own peril.
Ulasi also recounted an emergency meeting involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, governors and other political figures ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
According to him, while some participants were expressing confidence that Atiku had already won the election, he challenged their optimism, insisting that they had not done enough political groundwork to guarantee victory.
Ulasi said: “You know, in 2023, I said on this platform that if anybody takes President Tinubu for granted, you are doing it at your own peril. He’s one of the most strategic politicians in this country.
“When he (Tinubu) was coming up, we had an emergency meeting somewhere.
“You know, Atiku, everybody was there, and people, governors and they were saying ‘you (Atiku), have won, you have won. You have won already’.
“I said you must be jokers. And they said I must leave the meeting. I said if I leave this meeting, everybody will walk out here, and I got up.
“A lot of people followed me, but Atiku called me. I came back. I said, ‘Like who has won?
“That Atiku sitting down here has..which election has they won against Tinubu?
“What have we done on the ground to show that Atiku will win? And we went to that election. What happened? Tinubu won.
“We are again in another circle of election. Like you read, they said the opposition is so fragmented now, worse than it was in 2023.
“So only God will answer that question. Is there some divine process going on?
“But as things are on the ground, it will take some magic for anybody to stop Tinubu. I can tell you that.”