Political analyst and author, Dr. Peter Anosike, has warned that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, may be entering what he described as a “panic mode” ahead of the 2027 general elections, citing growing public dissatisfaction over insecurity, economic hardship and governance challenges.
Mr Anosike made the remarks while speaking on Political Lens on Voice of the People TV on Saturday, while reacting to President Bola Tinubu’s decision to summon 32 APC governors to an emergency meeting in Abuja, coming shortly after opposition leaders Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi scheduled an August 31 coalition summit aimed at producing a single presidential candidate.
According to him, the political contest in 2027 could become less about traditional rivalry between political parties and more about citizens confronting the institutions and structures controlling the electoral process.
“Going by the situation in the country, I can say for free that APC is in a panic mode… for the reason that they have not delivered in critical sectors like security, economy, and infrastructure. Nigeria has become a killing field,” Mr Anosike said.
Public anger, Opposition pressure
The analyst argued that the ruling party’s control of state institutions and the support of 32 governors would not necessarily translate into electoral victory if Nigerians remained dissatisfied with the government.
He said attempts to control political structures or influence institutions could ultimately prove ineffective if voters remained determined to defend their choices at the ballot box.
“You can capture the judiciary, you can capture INEC, but you cannot capture the people’s vote. People were resolute in defending their votes, and this is a template for 2027,” he stated.
Mr Anosike also pointed to developments in Osun State as evidence that voters could resist political pressure and financial inducement when they became determined to exercise their franchise.
He said the experience should serve as a warning to political parties ahead of the 2027 elections.
Campaign council raises conflict concerns
Also speaking on the composition of the APC’s 223-member Presidential Campaign Council, Mr Anosike raised concerns over the involvement of individuals occupying sensitive public offices in the ruling party’s campaign structure.
He specifically questioned the appointment of the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, to a campaign fundraising role and the inclusion of the Minister of Defence as Campaign Secretary 1.
According to him, assigning partisan campaign responsibilities to officials with control over public finances or national security creates a serious conflict of interest.
“You cannot be a public servant in charge of the nation’s purse and you are the deputy director of fundraising for a political party. It is a direct conflict of interest,” he said.
Mr Anosike argued that such arrangements could undermine confidence in the electoral process by creating the perception that government institutions were being deployed for partisan purposes.
“With this campaign council, the election is already messed up. The nation is already messed up because the process is no longer fair. In America, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve is not a politician,” he added.
The concerns come amid objections from opposition figures, including members of the African Democratic Congress, who have threatened legal action over the composition of the APC campaign council and what they describe as the use of public office for partisan political activities.
Opposition unity faces zoning test
At the planned August 31 opposition summit, Mr Anosike expressed doubts that Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi would be able to reach an agreement on a single presidential candidate.
He said the disagreement over where presidential power should be located could prove difficult to resolve, particularly because of demands in some southern political circles that the presidency remain in the South until 2031.
“I don’t see Atiku and Peter Obi agreeing. If Peter Obi agrees to step down, people will say he sold the North-South agreement, because power is supposed to be in the South till 2031,” he said.
The analyst maintained that any consensus candidate would have to take the regional power-sharing argument into consideration.
“Whoever they are choosing has to be from the South even if it’s not Peter Obi, so that the North-South gentleman agreement will not be broken. With this, I don’t see Atiku stepping down for Obi or Obi stepping down for Atiku.”
He warned that failure by the opposition to agree on a common candidate could leave its supporters divided among several political platforms, potentially weakening its challenge to the APC in 2027.
The G-60 opposition initiative, involving political figures across several parties, has been working towards a consensus candidate ahead of the next general election, but competing ambitions and disagreements over zoning remain major obstacles.
NBA Debate: Falana, VeryDarkMan and changing public conversations
Meanwhile, reacting to the controversy surrounding the invitation of social media commentator VeryDarkMan to speak at the Nigerian Bar Association’s 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Mr Anosike disagreed with Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, who had questioned the suitability of the social media personality for a discussion on national security.
Mr Anosike argued that the nature of public discourse was changing and that social media personalities could bring issues of immediate public concern into national conversations.
“Falana is looking at it with the mindset of the ’80s and ’90s when Nigeria was still a sane country. But VDM is generating a public debate as well by spotlighting how police officers are involved in kidnappings,” he said.
He defended the decision to include different voices at the conference, arguing that VeryDarkMan’s popularity demonstrated the extent to which social media now influences public discourse.
“Variety is the spice of life… When he was speaking at the podium, people were hearing him and struggling to take pictures with him. The decision to invite him was not made by one individual,” Mr Anosike stated.
The debate has highlighted the changing nature of national conversations, with traditional professional institutions increasingly facing pressure to engage voices that command significant grassroots and online audiences.
Background
The discussions come as political parties intensify preparations for the 2027 general elections, with the APC consolidating its structures while opposition parties continue negotiations over a possible coalition.
President Tinubu’s engagement with APC governors, the inauguration of the ruling party’s presidential campaign council and the planned opposition summit have further heightened political activity ahead of the elections.
At the same time, disagreements over the role of public officials in partisan politics and the growing influence of social media personalities continue to fuel wider debates about Nigeria’s democratic institutions, electoral credibility and the changing nature of political participation.
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