By Charles Pemu 
Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and publisher of Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu, has delivered a stark message to Nigeria’s opposition parties: unite swiftly and strategically leverage ethnic and religious balancing to mount any meaningful challenge against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Momodu made the fiery call in a statement posted on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday, reacting pointedly to the steady stream of defections rocking the PDP, including the recent resignations of governors like Enugu State’s Peter Mbah and Bayelsa State’s Douye Diri.
The veteran journalist argued that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has already consolidated its power, effectively pushing Nigeria toward a single-party system.
“Nigeria has comfortably, voluntarily, and predictably, cruised, senselessly, into a one-party state… Both the executive and the legislative arms finally crossed the Rubicon yesterday under the grip of the ruling party, APC,” he wrote.
Despite this seemingly insurmountable consolidation, Momodu insisted that the opposition is not yet defeated, provided they adopt a clear, aggressive strategy centered on regional focus.
Momodu’s core political thesis is simple: since President Tinubu has, in his view, successfully “locked down the South of Nigeria,” the opposition’s only viable option is to “work speedily to lock down the North.”
He warned that any Southern presidential candidate—whether former President Goodluck Jonathan or Labour Party’s Peter Obi would fail “spectacularly” if they chose to run independently against Tinubu in 2027.
To succeed, Momodu urged the opposition to form a powerful coalition similar to the one that birthed the APC in 2015. He stressed that a successful ticket must be deliberately balanced to counter the APC’s expected ticket.
Momodu argued that to achieve competitiveness, the opposition “must first unite and decide to play the ethnic and religious cards too.”
He stressed that the most formidable ticket would feature a formidable Northern Muslim candidate paired with a very popular Southern Christian running mate, directly challenging President Tinubu’s likely Muslim/Muslim ticket.
Concluding his post, Momodu maintained that “the game is not over,” but issued a final caution: opposition parties must act decisively now, as success “requires candidates of absolute necessity” and is dependent on their speed in forming a grand alliance.