By Kingston Magare 3.10.2026
The Economist’s prediction that President Bola Tinubu, despite being unpopular among Nigerian voters will win the 2027 presidential election has been rubbished by the Africa Democratic Congress.
According to the ADC, the prediction by the popular British magazine does not reflect the desire of Nigerians to see President Tinubu gone.
“We think the story is based on assumptions that are not necessarily correct. We agree with the story that President Tinubu is universally disliked, but we disagree that he could win the election,” said ADC national publicity secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi
“The article focuses on the role that religion and ethnicity could play in the election, but the argument is overstated. Nigerians across all divides are united under the cost-of-living crisis that the Tinubu administration has plunged them into.
“And this will determine how they will vote more than anything else.
“The article also suggests that the President does not appear like he is worried about losing the election. If it is true, then he doesn’t understand the mood of the country.
“The only way the APC could think of winning the election is to rig it. We know that and we have our strategy to stop them.”
Also, ADC campaign council communications director Phrank Shaibu, said projections about the election should not be mistaken for the verdict of Nigerian voters.
“The argument that Nigerians may return President Bola Tinubu to office despite widespread hardship is more than a prediction of about one election. It rests on a troubling assumption: that voters have become so accustomed to insecurity, economic pain and political disappointment that they will accept them as permanent,” Shaibu said.
He argued that while factors such as incumbency, political organisation, turnout and religion could influence the election, they could not substitute for voters’ decisions.
“These factors matter. But they are not the same as public consent, and none can tell us how Nigerians will vote in January. A forecast is not a verdict,” he said.