Presidential candidate of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has warned that the All Progressives Congress (APC) could retain power in the 2027 general election if opposition parties fail to unite behind a common candidate.
Duke gave the warning during an exclusive interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, on Monday, October 19, 2026. He said the division of opposition votes could give the ruling party an electoral advantage, even without securing a majority of the votes cast nationally.
The former Cross River State governor argued that opposition unity was crucial to defeating the APC, citing the 2015 presidential election, when opposition parties merged to form the APC and ousted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had governed Nigeria for 16 years.
He said the opposition’s inability to replicate that strategy during the 2023 general election contributed to its failure to unseat the ruling party.
“The reason why the opposition was able to unseat the ruling party in 2015 was that they came together. When you look at the results of 2023, you find that the current administration, the APC government, only won about 10 per cent of the vote. The opposition had over 60 per cent of the vote,” Duke said.
He maintained that Nigeria’s presidential system made it difficult for several opposition parties to defeat an incumbent when they contested separately, as their votes could be divided among multiple candidates.
“In a presidential system of government, or a presidential democracy, you need just two parties. Where you have more than two parties, most likely, the incumbent party will always win because the opposition will split their votes, which we saw in 2023,” he said.
Duke warned that a repeat of the same political arrangement in 2027 could produce a similar outcome, regardless of the level of public support for opposition candidates.
“But I’m repeating over again that if we don’t all come together, the APC would win the election. Not by majority of the votes cast. No, the APC knows very well that it can never win a majority of the votes cast,” he said.
The PRP presidential candidate argued that the constitutional requirements for winning a presidential election could work in favour of the ruling party if opposition votes remained divided.
He explained that a candidate could emerge victorious without securing more than 50 per cent of the total votes cast, provided the constitutional requirements for geographical spread and other conditions were satisfied.
“It does not require majority of the votes cast. It just requires a split of the opposition, even if it’s by one and have 25 per cent in over 24 states. Now, the APC has control of about 32 states. They have 32 state governments. Easily, those states will produce 25 per cent. Whether they win or not, they’ll at least give the APC 25 per cent. So they’ve already achieved a spread. Having achieved that spread, all they’re looking for is a simple majority and a simple majority doesn’t have to be over 50 per cent. No, it could be 30 per cent,” Duke said.
However, he cautioned opposition leaders against making the removal of President Bola Tinubu and the APC their sole objective, stressing that any alliance should be built around a shared vision for the country’s development.
According to him, political parties seeking to challenge the ruling party must first agree on the direction they want Nigeria to take and identify a candidate capable of delivering on their collective aspirations.
“Coming together is not essentially to remove the APC and replace them with another party that will probably do the same thing. Let’s have a common objective for Nigeria first and foremost. Where do we want to take Nigeria to?” he asked.
Duke also urged opposition leaders to put aside personal ambitions and political egos in the interest of the country, arguing that the responsibility of governing millions of Nigerians should take precedence over individual aspirations.
“The first thing you have to get rid of is your ego. Submit or just lock away your ego. You’re talking about the administration of the lives of people, right? You cannot put yourself above,” he said.
He further declared his willingness to support another opposition candidate if the parties adopted a credible process that produced a candidate based on an agreed national agenda.
“I don’t have to be president,” he added.
Duke warned that opposition leaders risked repeating the outcome of the 2023 election if they failed to learn from the divisions that weakened their chances against the APC.
He urged them to prioritise national interests, agree on a common political direction and rally behind the most suitable candidate ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
“If you do the same thing that you did in 2023 and you do it again today, you think you’re going to be different or you’re not more popular than you were in 2023, then I think you’re not thinking right,” he said.
