A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Lere Olayinka, has said the 2027 presidential election will be easier for President Bola Tinubu than the 2023 poll.

Olayinka made the assertion during an interview on TVC Breakfast on Monday, attributing Tinubu’s advantage to his performance in governance and ability to draw influential opposition figures closer to his administration.

He specifically cited FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who remains a PDP member while serving in Tinubu’s administration, saying Wike’s political influence could have strengthened the opposition if he had remained fully aligned with the party.

“If Wike was not working with the president, probably he would have been galvanizing more support for the PDP. Now he is not. The president has been able to bring him and other people to himself,” Olayinka said.

Olayinka also cited the political positions of Abia State Governor Alex Otti and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, saying opposition figures backing different parties would make it harder to build a unified challenge against Tinubu.

He said Tinubu’s willingness to work across political divides had made both governance and politics easier for the President.

“By being open, by bringing people to himself, he (Tinubu) has been able to make governance easier. He has also been able to make politics easier for himself,” Olayinka said.

The PDP chieftain described the 2027 election as potentially a “one-way election”, citing what he described as Tinubu’s performance in national development and politics.