A former Nollywood actor and political activist, Kenneth Okonkwo, has declared that unseating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general election would be nearly impossible without urgent and comprehensive electoral reforms unless the opposition fields a formidable candidate from northern Nigeria.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Monday, Okonkwo expressed deep skepticism about the possibility of a credible electoral process under the current system, which he described as structurally rigged in favor of the incumbent.
“I do not believe we are going to have a free and credible election in 2027,” he said. “I don’t believe it because the electoral reforms have not been done. We are still dealing with manually collated results where all the fraud takes place.”
Okonkwo warned that the 2027 political landscape is significantly different from that of 2023, emphasising that Tinubu now has all the instruments of state power and influence at his disposal.
He argued that defeating such an incumbent requires more than popularity it demands strategic political alignment, particularly with the North.
“In 2023, there was no incumbent. The power was in the North. But in 2027, you have an incumbent who has publicly declared he knows how to take power by force, to grab it, snatch it, and run with it,” Okonkwo said, referencing Tinubu’s infamous pre-election remarks.
He challenged the logic behind floating another candidate from the South-East in the next presidential election, citing the region’s limited national leverage and lack of northern political endorsement.
“Why would you want to field someone from the South-East who has no military backing, no Army, Navy, or Air Force against a sitting president from the South-West?” he queried.
“Do you think the North will support a fresh candidate they don’t even trust to keep political agreements?, he asked.
Okonkwo argued that the only viable strategy is to replicate the successful 2015 alliance that brought Muhammadu Buhari to power with Tinubu’s backing as a northern candidate with a strong electoral base.
“That’s what Tinubu did. He brought Buhari, who already had 12 million votes locked in from the North. All Tinubu needed was a modest number from the South to win,” he said.
Although he is a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which has declared its presidential ticket open to all regions, Okonkwo clarified that his stance on a northern candidate is personal and based on political strategy.
“It is not the ADC saying they prefer a northern candidate. That is my personal strategy. If we are serious about defeating Tinubu, this is the way,” he explained.
He emphasised that his political views are rooted in realism, not emotion or idealism.
“You have to be pragmatic. I am a politician living in reality. Activists dwell in idealism,” he said.
He queried, “If Tinubu had performed well, in all honesty, I would go home and sleep. But how can we support a Muslim-Muslim ticket amid worsening insecurity and economic collapse and still reward that with eight years in power?”
