House of Representatives Minority Leader, Fred Agbedi, has expressed optimism that if former president Goodluck Jonathan is on the ballot, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will win the 2027 general elections.

Agbedi made this this assertion on Monday when he appeared as a guest in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Morning Show’.

He was speaking on the level of preparation for next year’s general elections, noting that the PDP is still strong regardless of the crisis confronting it.

“With former President Jonathan on the ballot, PDP will win in 2027. While we can agree that he has not mentioned running in 2027, he has also not ruled out the possibility.

“The question of whether it will be the Wike faction or the Turaki faction of the PDP that fields the party’s presidential candidate is yet to be decided. We are confident that the judgement will go our way,” he said

Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had rejected Jonathan’s nomination for the 2027 polls submitted by the Taminu Turaki faction of the PDP.

The electoral body stated that nominations can only be processed through its designated online portal in line with electoral regulations.

The President’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, made the remarks in a post on his X account on Saturday, August 1, while responding to Onaiyekan’s criticism following the recent visit of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) to the President.

Cardinal Onaiyekan had accused the Tinubu administration of being more focused on winning political contests than addressing the country’s pressing challenges.

Responding, Bwala argued that the cardinal was expressing the views of the Catholic Church and not speaking on behalf of all Christians in Nigeria. He also claimed that the Catholic institution largely supported Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi during the 2023 presidential election.

According to Bwala, the cardinal’s comments were political rather than spiritual and did not reflect the opinions of all Catholic faithful.

“Cardinal Onaiyekan wasn’t speaking for Christians; he was speaking for Catholics, the very institutions rooting for Peter Obi. In fact, likely the institution where Peter Obi also said in 2022, ‘Take back your country.’ Therefore, the Cardinal is more political than spiritual. And not all Catholic members are supporting Peter Obi,” he wrote.

Bwala also defended President Tinubu’s response to the Catholic bishops’ assessment of the nation’s economy, arguing that the President was entitled to disagree based on available economic data.

“The President was well within his right to disagree with their assertion regarding Nigeria’s economy based purely on facts, statistics and numbers considered within the proper context,” he stated.

He further accused the cleric of applying a different standard to members of the church, suggesting that religious leaders often encourage worshippers to make positive declarations despite difficult circumstances.

“Ironically, the same priest would rebuke their members if they said, ‘We are suffering’ or ‘We are poor.’ They would instead tell them to declare, ‘We are doing great’ or ‘We are rich,’ even when they are facing hardship,” Bwala added.

The presidential aide maintained that there is a broader Christian body comprising various denominations, including the Catholic Church and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, and argued that such organisations should remain politically neutral.

“There is a body comprising all Christians, including the Catholics and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, and that body’s position is neutral and should remain so; otherwise, it becomes political,” he said.

The exchange follows renewed public debate over the role of religious leaders in commenting on governance and national affairs.