Jibrin made the remarks during an appearance on Channels Television’s political programme Politics Today, where discussions focused on the evolving political landscape, the preparedness of opposition parties, and the strategic alignments already emerging ahead of the next election cycle.
His comments come at a time when conversations about opposition unity have intensified across Nigeria, with several political stakeholders debating whether opposition parties can form a broad coalition capable of challenging the APC’s dominance at the national level.
During the interview, the former House of Representatives member from Kano State explained that the current structure of the opposition remains fragmented, making it difficult for individual parties to effectively compete against an incumbent government with an established political network across the country.
According to him, the opposition’s best opportunity would be to consolidate its strength under a common platform capable of presenting a single presidential candidate and coordinated national campaign strategy.
Jibrin argued that such an arrangement would place greater political pressure on President Tinubu and the APC by reducing the division of opposition votes across multiple parties and candidates.
He stated that a coalition built around a united political structure could create a far more competitive electoral environment than the present situation, where opposition parties are operating independently and often competing against one another for the same voting base.
The former lawmaker noted that vote splitting remains one of the biggest weaknesses facing opposition parties in Nigeria’s political system.
He explained that when multiple opposition candidates enter the same race separately, they often divide supporters who share similar political interests, ultimately weakening their collective electoral strength.
According to Jibrin, this fragmentation works to the advantage of the ruling party because the incumbent’s support base tends to remain relatively stable even when opposition votes are dispersed among several candidates.
He stressed that unless opposition parties find a way to coordinate their efforts and unite behind a single direction, they could once again face difficulties challenging the APC in the 2027 election.
Despite acknowledging the possible strength of a united opposition front, Jibrin maintained that President Tinubu would still likely secure victory even if all opposition parties formed a coalition against him.
In his view, the president currently enjoys strategic political advantages that would remain difficult for the opposition to overcome, regardless of how alliances are structured ahead of the election.
He suggested that the APC’s established nationwide structure, political influence, and incumbent advantage continue to place the ruling party in a strong position going into the next presidential contest.
“The more they divide themselves the more they split their votes but the vote of the president continues to remain intact, none of them is taking anything from the vote the president is going to get,” Jibrin said during the programme.
He added that even in a scenario where opposition parties eventually unite, President Tinubu would still emerge victorious because of the political strength currently enjoyed by the ruling party.
“Even if they come all together, the president would still defeat them,” he added.
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