Lawyer warns against saying 2027 poll outcome is decided

Human rights lawyer and United States Secretary of State Awardee on International Religious Freedom, Kola Alapinni, has cautioned against interpreting insecurity, vote-buying and alleged influence over election logistics as evidence that the outcome of the 2027 presidential election has already been determined. Alapinni made the submission while challenging The Economist’s assessment of factors that could shape the 2027 election in a Monday statement titled, “A Forecast Is Not a Verdict: Why The Economist Misreads 2027.” The Economist, in an October 1 report titled, “Nigerians Dislike Their President, But May Re-elect Him Anyway,” identified incumbency, opposition fragmentation, religion, voter turnout and political cynicism as factors that could work in President Bola Tinubu’s favour despite dissatisfaction with his administration. But Alapinni argued that the magazine had turned current political conditions into assumptions about the eventual outcome of the election.