Flamingos’ victory shows Tinubu will be re-elected – Akpabio

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has said Nigeria’s historic victory at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco is a sign that President Bola Tinubu will be re-elected in 2027.

Mr Akpabio said the Flamingos’ triumph ahead of the 2027 general elections signalled that Nigerians would vote massively for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and return Mr Tinubu for a second term.

He stated this on Wednesday when he received members of the Flamingos at the Senate wing of the National Assembly in Abuja.

“Perhaps, the prominence in choosing this hour for your triumph, just as we are about to go for the 2027 election, you brought this World Cup to us, which means that we have won the next election. It is the same way Nigerians are going to choose us in January 2027,” he said.

Mr Akpabio further said that Mr Tinubu’s receipt of the trophy from the team was an indication that he would also emerge victorious in the 2027 presidential election.

“And for the president to be a president that receives this World Cup from you, it means he’s also going to receive a bigger trophy of his re-election into office as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. So, continue the good work and continue to make us proud. The transformative spirit is already touching every sector of our economy,” he said.

The 2027 presidential election is scheduled for 16 January 2027, according to the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

INEC has cleared 18 presidential candidates and their running mates to participate in the election, after political parties concluded their primaries and INEC published its final list of candidates on 12 September.

The candidates include Mr Tinubu of the APC; former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the All Progressives Congress (ADC); former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC); and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).

Other candidates include Sandy Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC); and Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are scheduled for 6 February 2027.

Nigeria defeated Japan 2-1 in Saturday’s final at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Rabat, Morocco, to become the first African country to win the competition.

Awawu Bashiru opened the scoring in the 39th minute before Oluebube Umejiaku doubled Nigeria’s lead shortly after the restart. Japan’s Fuki Ito reduced the deficit in the 80th minute, but the Flamingos held on to secure the title.

The Flamingos lost their opening group-stage match 2-1 to Poland but recovered, winning six consecutive matches to lift the trophy. They became the first team in the competition’s history to lose their opening fixture and still win the tournament.

They defeated Puerto Rico 2-0 and defending champions Korea DPR 3-1 in the group stage before overcoming Mexico 2-1 in the round of 16. They subsequently edged Venezuela in the quarter-finals and defeated Brazil 3-1 in the semi-finals to reach their first-ever final.

The victory also made Nigeria the first African country to win both the men’s and women’s FIFA U-17 World Cup titles.

On Tuesday, the Senate announced a donation of N100 million to the team in recognition of their historic achievement and to encourage the players.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Mr Akpabio presented the cash donation to members of the team.

He urged the players to remain united and encouraged the technical crew, including the coaches, to sustain their training and development to prepare them for promotion to the senior women’s national team, the Super Falcons.