Social commentator and businessman, Isaac Fayose, has challenged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over his claim that the opposition lacks the support to win Abuja in the 2027 presidential election.
Fayose, while speaking on Tuesday during an interview on News Central TV, said the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, would win the Federal Capital Territory.
His remarks followed Wike’s recent assertion that the 2027 presidential election would be an easy contest for President Bola Tinubu, including in the FCT and Rivers State.
Wike had maintained that Tinubu would defeat the opposition in both territories, despite growing political activities by opposition parties ahead of the election.
But Fayose dismissed the minister’s position, declaring, “Abuja is NDC, Abuja is Peter Obi.”
He also alleged that the ruling party could attempt to manipulate the election, but said the NDC had begun putting measures in place to prevent any attempt to compromise the outcome of the poll.
According to Fayose, the major concern for the opposition was not voters’ willingness to support its candidate but possible attempts to suppress votes during the election.
“People are ready to vote. All we are scared of now is what angle are they going to suppress us from this time? This is the only area we are trying to fine-tune,” he said.
Fayose called for greater efforts to gauge voters’ preferences ahead of the election, urging Nigerians to engage people in their communities on their preferred candidates.
“Go to the street and try to talk to one or two people. Ask them, ‘Who are you going to vote for?’” he said.
He further advocated the use of mock elections and opinion surveys ahead of Nigeria’s elections, citing their use in other countries as a way of gauging public sentiment.
“Abroad, before the proper election, they seek people’s opinions on who they want to vote for through mock elections. We don’t do that in Nigeria, but we need to start doing it,” Fayose added.
