A senior aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, Lere Olayinka, has described former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and other opposition figures as “content creators”, questioning their ability to defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Olayinka argued that social media popularity and public visibility would not translate into electoral victory without strong political structures, grassroots mobilisation and nationwide support.
He made the remarks on Thursday while appearing on TVC’s political programme, Beyond the Headlines, where he assessed the preparedness of opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to Wike, also serves as a spokesperson for the Directorate of Media and Strategic Communications of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council.
He dismissed the growing number of presidential aspirants, arguing that having 19 candidates did not necessarily make the contest competitive, as some politicians were allegedly more interested in attracting attention than winning elections.
Criticising Atiku’s repeated attempts to become president, Olayinka said the former vice-president had pursued the ambition for decades.
“Someone who started contesting for president since 1993… this is his eighth time. Anytime the whistle is blown, if today they say there should be election for president every month, Atiku would be contesting every month,” he said.
He also accused Atiku of inconsistency over fuel subsidy, alleging that the former vice-president criticised the policy in 2022 but later advocated its restoration.
Olayinka reserved particularly harsh criticism for Obi, describing him as a “content creator” and accusing him of making contradictory public statements.
“Peter Obi is more like a content creator — he says something today, he says another thing tomorrow,” he said.
He also questioned Obi’s ability to manage political disagreements, citing his departures from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party amid internal disputes.
“Someone who has not been able to manage an ordinary political party… does that mean if he becomes president and there is a problem in Nigeria, he will run and go to Cameroon?” Olayinka asked.
The APC spokesperson also questioned the electoral prospects of African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, citing his performance in the 2023 presidential election.
Sowore received 14,608 votes in the election, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Olayinka questioned how the activist could defeat Tinubu in 2027, arguing that some politicians contested elections mainly to establish their presence rather than secure victory.
“It is not everybody that contests elections that wants to win. There are people that contest elections just to register their presence,” he said.
He further questioned the grassroots capacity of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), arguing that presidential candidates needed strong nationwide structures, sufficient personnel and effective mobilisation networks to secure votes across polling units.
According to him, social media popularity alone could not guarantee electoral success without the capacity to mobilise voters and protect votes nationwide.
Defending the APC’s preparations for the 2027 election, Olayinka dismissed concerns about disagreements among political stakeholders, insisting that alliances were being built across states to strengthen Tinubu’s re-election bid.
He cited cooperation between the APC and the Accord Party in Osun State as an example of the ruling party’s coalition-building efforts.
“APC in Osun State and Accord Party are working together. It is a coalition. They are working to deliver votes to the president,” he said.
Olayinka expressed confidence that the APC’s political alliances and grassroots mobilisation would give Tinubu an advantage over his challengers.
He also accused opposition campaigns of relying heavily on public sentiment and social media trends rather than demonstrable achievements.
To support his argument, he pointed to road construction, urban renewal and other infrastructure projects in the FCT under Wike’s leadership, describing them as evidence of the administration’s commitment to development.
He maintained that the APC’s alliances and infrastructure projects would strengthen its position as the 2027 presidential election approaches.
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