Dele Momodu has challenged Governor Seyi Makinde’s fitness-focused framing of the 2027 presidential race, arguing that Nigeria’s next leader needs vision and experience—not the legs to leap off a stage.

Dele Momodu, a prominent figure in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has dismissed suggestions that physical stamina should be a deciding factor in choosing Nigeria’s next president, insisting the office demands intellectual depth and governing experience above all else.

Momodu made the argument during a Thursday appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, responding to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who recently argued that Nigeria needs a younger, more energetic leader in 2027. Makinde reportedly underscored his point by jumping off a stage and daring other presidential hopefuls to match the feat.

In Momodu’s view, that demonstration misses what the job is actually about. “The job of a president is not to be a high jumper or long jumper,” he said. “It is to think; it is to have clear vision; it is to have experience; it is to have exposure and be tolerant. Leadership is about managing people and resources.”

He went on to stress that neither age nor physical energy, on their own, qualifies anyone for the presidency, pointing instead to tolerance, broad exposure, and proven leadership capacity as the qualities that matter most. Momodu also used the platform to position the ADC as a credible alternative to both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) heading into 2027.

The back-and-forth underscores a broader debate taking shape within the opposition over what kind of candidate should carry the fight to President Bola Tinubu in the next election cycle.