Former Cross River State Governor and presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has said President Bola Tinubu has lost some of the public sympathy he enjoyed during the 2023 presidential election, while criticising his administration’s performance in governance.
Duke made the remarks on Monday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he discussed Tinubu’s political standing ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The PRP presidential candidate said he did not believe Tinubu was politically stronger than he was in 2023, arguing that the President’s performance in office had affected public perception of his administration.
‘I don’t think so, I think his governance has exposed the weakness of the contraption called. I don’t think he has the sympathies he had in 2023,’ Duke said.
He linked the shift in public sentiment to the economic difficulties faced by Nigerians, saying the situation had left many citizens dissatisfied with the administration.
‘Things have gone harder for people, a lot of people are disillusioned by his style of governance, hope has turned into despair. Yes, you talk about structures and all that but I think on the election day they will be fighting for their own survival,’ he said.
Duke, however, acknowledged Tinubu’s political strength, separating the President’s political ability from his assessment of his performance in office.
‘Give it to him, he is a formidable politician, my issue with him is governance not politics. He is weak on governance, from what we have seen over the last three years he is very weak on governance,’ he said.
He argued that Tinubu should not be given another term, warning that further deterioration in living conditions could create more challenges for the country.
Duke also said the opposition would need to resolve its internal differences and prepare for possible challenges on election day if it hopes to defeat the incumbent.
He warned that failure to unite could give Tinubu an advantage, even if the President secured only a minority of the votes cast.
‘The reality is that things are bound to happen on that (election) day, how to mitigate those things should be the major concern of the opposition. I don’t like people who cry wolf after it has happened and all that. We have done this several times over, we should anticipate it, and united we stand if we do it, if we don’t, then we will only have ourselves to blame because it has repeated itself,’ Duke said.
He also expressed his willingness to withdraw from the presidential race if opposition parties agree on another candidate they believe is better positioned to challenge Tinubu.
Asked if he would step down for such a candidate, Duke said: ‘Absolutely. First of all, once we have commonality in objective, the next question is who is best suited for this? You need some voice of reason amongst the lot of them.’