Segun Showunmi, a former ally of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has said President Bola Tinubu is one thousand years wiser than all the opposition and he will defeat all those vying for the presidency in 2027.

Showunmi made the remark while backing Tinubu's stance that he will not visit all states to campaign.

Speaking in Abuja, the president had said he would focus on governance because there are bills to pay.

Reacting, Showunmi faulted critics and opposition members berating Tinubu over his remark of being absent from campaign rallies.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Showunmi said: “The President said he won't attend all of the rallies and of course the children of hate have latched onto that.

"In the build up to 2023 when they were filling stadia and they were saying absolutely nothing apart from calling the name of their party and getting their friends to answer, the man told them at that time that town hall is different from ballot blue, they were laughing, did he not defeat them?

"Now he has told them that we are going to use science and technology, I have work to do and can't leave the nation's work undone and be jumping up and down the street to say hello, we have built our structure on how polling units will work and governors will be in charge.

"Instead of them going to figure out how to build structures, they are coming to ask me how he will not be there. You check a candidate out mostly so that he can be recognized.

"When a candidate has achieved optical recognition across board, he can design his campaign in a way that it's a little bit more efficient and a little bit more easy for him.

"Do you even like that kind of criss-crossing that they will be littering the whole place, whereas, they are talking to themselves, that guy called President Tinubu is a thousand years wiser than them and I guarantee you that he's going to defeat them again.

"Tinubu must not go around the country for campaigns. He is adopting a smarter approach. All these campaign rallies by political parties are just making noise on the streets, nothing meaningful.”

2027: Tinubu 1000 years wiser than opposition – Atiku’s ex-ally, Showunmi

The camp of Allied Peoples Movement, APM, presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, has vowed that its principal will defeat President Bola Tinubu in 12 battleground states in the 2027 presidential election.

The camp made the vow in a statement by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, on Saturday.

It said President Tinubu’s planned visits to the states will not change growing opposition to his re-election.

The states where it said Makinde will defeat Tinubu are Rivers, Oyo, Kaduna, Plateau, Borno, Enugu, Bauchi, Sokoto, Delta, Kano, Adamawa and Lagos, as well as the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

The group blamed the alleged resentment on the economic hardship Nigerians are facing under Tinubu’s administration.

It accused the President’s policies and members of his inner circle of worsening public discontent through political arrogance.

According to the group, the Tinubu administration has spent trillions of naira on wasteful programmes and projects while ordinary Nigerians continue to struggle.

“Mr President should know that his visit to these states, if he eventually does, will not in any way change the direction or the determination of the people to vote him out.

“We challenge President Tinubu not to have a change of mind but visit the states to face the people," it said.

2027: Makinde’s camp names 12 states that will stop Tinubu [FULL LIST]