Former Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, has declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will lose the 2027 presidential election regardless of any advantage, even if his son is appointed chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Dalung made his remarks during an interview on News Central on Friday.

According to him, the next election would be a direct contest between suffering Nigerians and what he described as an oppressive government.

“Like I promised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Dalung said, “even if the 36 state governors of Nigeria defect to the APC and he appoints Seyi Tinubu as the chairman of INEC and maybe appoints his wife as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, they will be defeated in 2027.”

He accused the current administration of declaring “war against the Nigerian people,” and called on citizens to prepare for what he described as a defining political battle.

“The government has weaponised poverty, hunger and hardship. The only option we have now is to align with the coalition movement to reposition ourselves and confront the government in 2027.”

His remarks come just days after the formal launch of a new opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which has now been adopted as the platform for unseating the APC in the next election.

The coalition, which brings together major opposition figures such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and former Senate President David Mark, was unveiled in Abuja on Wednesday.

Mark and former Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola were named interim national chairman and secretary, respectively