Former Presidential spokesman and veteran journalist, Laolu Akande, has said former Anambra State governor and 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will struggle to win Nigeria’s presidency unless he builds and sustains a formidable political structure rather than moving across party platforms.
Akande made the remarks during My Take segment of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television, where he delivered a pointed assessment of Obi’s political strategy ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to the former presidential aide, Nigeria’s political history shows that no candidate has ever emerged president solely on personal popularity or mass appeal without a disciplined party machinery and institutional political structure.
‘No one is likely to win a presidential election [in Nigeria] the way [Peter] Obi is doing [moving from one party to another],’ Akande said.
He urged Obi to learn from the experiences of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, whose multiple presidential ambitions across different political platforms have yet to produce electoral victory.
‘Just ask former vice president Atiku Abubakar who has ran for president in several different parties,’ he added.
Akande argued that Obi’s recent political movements and his inability to consolidate control within the Labour Party after the 2023 election raise serious questions about his long-term political strategy.
‘Obi’s inability to stay in the Labour Party and stick with people like [Abia State] Governor Alex Otti and co to secure and preserve the LP structure shows that he lacks political sagacity,’ Akande said.
He further disclosed that even Obi’s 2023 running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, had hoped the former governor would return and strengthen the party.
‘Even Datti Baba-Ahmed who was his running mate in 2023 had hoped that Obi could return. It was after Obi left the Labour Party that the party managed to put its house in order-certainly, with more stability currently than ADC.’
Akande maintained that anyone genuinely seeking to transform Nigeria’s political system must first understand the importance of building durable institutions rather than relying solely on personal charisma or social media-driven popularity.
‘If you want to change a system, you first have to build and hold an institution because no one by themselves without a fairly organised political party can ever-or has ever-won a national election in Nigeria,’ he said.
Drawing comparisons with former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Tinubu, Akande said both leaders spent over a decade building opposition structures before eventually capturing power in 2015.
‘Former President Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu played opposition politics in the past between 2003 and 2015. They weren’t jumping all over the place like Obi.’
He noted that Buhari, like Obi, commanded an intensely loyal grassroots following but succeeded because he kept his supporters anchored within one political platform.
‘Like Obi, Buhari has a strong cult of followers. But Buhari managed to keep them tightly under one political party for the most part in those 12 years.’
Akande pointed out that Buhari remained committed to the Congress for Progressive Change, while Tinubu steadily built the Action Congress, both of which later became critical building blocks for the formation of the All Progressives Congress.
‘But only in less than four years, see how many times Obi has defected. Buhari stuck with CPC. Tinubu built AC. And they both came together to form APC.’
For Akande, the lesson is clear: political endurance, institutional loyalty, and organisational discipline-not personality-driven campaigns-remain the true currency of presidential politics in Nigeria.
‘Obi hasn’t managed to do that. He treated parties like disposable vehicles, rather than foundations,’ he said.
In one of his strongest conclusions, Akande argued that Nigeria’s democratic evolution now requires more than charismatic movements built around individuals.
‘Nigeria doesn’t need another personality cult. We need a political machine,’ he stated.
Akande’s comments come as political alignments, coalition talks, and party restructuring continue to gather momentum ahead of the 2027 presidential race, with Peter Obi widely expected to remain a major player in opposition politics.