Lere Olayinka, spokesman to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said some presidential candidates eyeing the 2027 election are not in the race to win but merely to register their presence and make an impression.
Olayinka spoke on Arise News on Friday while assess ing the political landscape ahead of the 2027 general election.
According to him, the number of presidential candidates in the race does not necessarily mean that all of them have a realistic chance or genuine expectation of winning.
“It is not everybody that contests elections that wants to win. There are people that contest elections just to register their presence,” Olayinka said.
“For instance, in this 2027 election, we have 19 presidential candidates. Can we honestly say that all the 19 are contesting with the mindset of winning? The answer is no.”
Olayinka cited the 2023 presidential election performance of African Action Congress (AAC) candidate, Omoyele Sowore, arguing that some aspirants were merely participating despite lacking the electoral strength to win.
“For instance, the candidate of AAC, Omoyele Sowore, had 14,600 votes in 2023. How would that person win the election next year? They know that they cannot win. They are just contesting,” he said.
He also questioned the capacity of the party associated with former Anambra State governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to win the 2027 presidential election, citing what he described as its weak grassroots structure.
“Even NDC, the party of Peter Obi, they know they cannot win the election. They are just contesting to try to register their presence,” he said.
According to Olayinka, political parties require strong structures across the country, including governorship candidates and party officials capable of canvassing votes and managing election-day activities.
“You don’t have a governorship candidate in 15 states. You only have it in 13. There was an election in Ekiti and Osun recently. NDC did not field candidates.
“How do you win an election when you don’t have people on ground to canvass votes for you, to manage elections for you?” he asked.
Olayinka said effective participation in a nationwide election required a large number of party personnel across Nigeria’s polling units.
“In Nigeria today, there are 176,846 polling units. To make a good impression on election day, you need at least five people to manage each polling unit for you.
“At least, you need five people. We have done elections before, so we know what it is.
“It is not about making noise.”
