The Lagos State Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), James Adeshina, has expressed confidence that the party’s presidential candidate, Donald Duke, can win the 2027 presidential election if his campaign is built around a strong grassroots structure and a broad political coalition.
Adeshina said Duke has the political experience, national recognition and leadership capacity needed to present himself as a credible alternative to Nigerians ahead of the 2027 election.
He, however, cautioned that the former Cross River State governor’s popularity alone would not be enough to deliver victory at the polls.
According to him, the major task before Duke and the PRP is to convert his public recognition into a properly organised political structure that reaches voters across the country.
The PRP chairman made the remarks while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday.
Adeshina said winning a presidential election in Nigeria requires more than visibility on television, the internet and social media, stressing that serious attention must be given to grassroots mobilisation.
He said Duke should begin extensive engagement with PRP stakeholders across the country, including state chairmen, local government leaders and ward executives, in order to build a united political platform ahead of the election.
He particularly identified the ward structure as one of the most important levels of Nigerian electoral politics.
According to him, a presidential candidate may enjoy national popularity but still struggle at the polls if that popularity is not backed by people and structures capable of mobilising voters at the grassroots.
Adeshina therefore urged Duke to establish functional campaign structures across the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory, local government areas, wards and polling units.
He said such a structure would allow the campaign to move beyond online conversations and reach voters directly in their communities.
The Lagos PRP chairman also called for the formation of strategic alliances with political groups, stakeholders and individuals who share similar political interests and are willing to work together ahead of 2027.
He argued that a broad-based coalition could significantly strengthen Duke’s chances by bringing together different political interests under one platform.
Adeshina stressed that the 2027 presidential contest would require a disciplined and nationwide campaign capable of reaching voters across Nigeria.
He warned against relying heavily on social media, noting that online popularity does not automatically translate into votes on election day.
The PRP chairman maintained that the party must work from the grassroots upwards, with serious attention paid to polling-unit-level organisation.
Duke, a former two-term governor of Cross River State, returned to the presidential race under the PRP and has been positioning himself as an alternative to the established political parties ahead of the 2027 election.
For Adeshina, Duke’s experience in government and national profile give him an advantage, but the candidate must combine those qualities with political organisation if he wants to turn his ambition into an electoral victory.
He therefore called for early mobilisation, stronger coordination among party stakeholders and a coalition broad enough to give the Duke campaign a nationwide reach.
The position comes as political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections continue to gather momentum, with various political parties, candidates and emerging coalitions already working to strengthen their structures across the country.
Adeshina’s message is that for Duke and the PRP, the road to the presidency must begin from the wards and polling units, not only from national campaigns and social media platforms.
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