Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has declared that the anti-Tinubu coalition will remain unaffected even if all 36 state governors defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Lawal made this assertion in response to the recent endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for a second term by the 22 APC governors, who publicly backed Tinubu as the party's sole presidential candidate for the 2027 election.

"Let the governors continue to defect, we don't care. If we wake up one morning and hear that all the 36 state governors and the FCT are in APC, we don't care," Lawal stated.

The former SGF, who is a key figure in the opposition coalition seeking to unseat the APC in 2027, dismissed the governors' endorsement as insignificant to their strategy. "It is immaterial. They have only 37 votes; maybe we can add their families. Maybe you get 1000 votes. The voter is what we are targeting, and the voter is the victim of the system we are against," he emphasized.

According to Lawal, the coalition remains confident about its chances of defeating the APC in the 2027 presidential election and will soon announce its plans to the public.

The opposition coalition, formally announced on March 20, is led by prominent political figures including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party's 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai.

The coalition has been engaged in discussions about which political platform to adopt, with initial talks involving the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Interest in the SDP increased following El-Rufai's defection from the APC, which attracted attention from his supporters and other northern political leaders.

As political realignments continue ahead of the 2027 elections, Lawal's comments highlight the coalition's strategy of focusing on grassroots voter support rather than political endorsements from current officeholders.