ABUJA – The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has dismissed the Presidency’s recent reassurance that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has no intention of staying in power beyond 2031, stressing that his constitutional mandate will end in 2027. The party warned that any attempt to create room for tenure elongation would be firmly resisted by Nigerians.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC argued that given the current climate of insecurity, economic collapse, and alleged abuse of power, Nigerians would not tolerate the extension of Tinubu’s rule “by a single day.”
“Considering the unending cases of killings, banditry, and violent attacks across the country, coupled with the widespread hunger, punitive taxation, and unprecedented abuse of power, it is only logical that President Tinubu should begin preparing to vacate office in 2027. Any suggestion of staying beyond that date only proves this government’s detachment from the realities faced by ordinary Nigerians,” Abdullahi declared.
The statement followed the Presidency’s rebuttal of allegations by former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, who had accused Tinubu of nursing ambitions to become a “life President.” According to the ADC, the Presidency’s hurried response only deepened public suspicion.
“The desperate manner in which the Presidency dismissed El-Rufai’s remarks confirms what Nigerians have long suspected: this administration is not only tone-deaf but dangerously complacent,” the ADC stated.
The party further accused Tinubu of assuming that re-election in 2027 was guaranteed, without showing accountability to the electorate.
“For the President to already be speaking in terms of 2031 exposes a mindset that sees re-election as a foregone conclusion, instead of a constitutional obligation to present a scorecard to Nigerians. Re-election is not automatic, and as things stand, President Tinubu has not earned a second term,” the statement read.
On the issue of security, the ADC painted a grim picture, alleging that terrorists and bandits now dominate large parts of the North, imposing levies on helpless citizens.
“National security under this government has collapsed into a cruel parody. Armed groups now rule vast areas with impunity, abducting people in broad daylight while rural communities are turned into killing fields,” Abdullahi lamented.
The opposition party also faulted the administration’s economic policies, claiming they had wrecked the naira, triggered uncontrollable inflation, and crushed businesses.
“The naira is in free fall, inflation has spiraled, and food prices have tripled across the country. Jobs are disappearing, the middle class is vanishing, and enterprises that once thrived are being destroyed by suffocating taxes and inconsistent policies,” the party argued.
Beyond the economy, the ADC criticized the government’s record on electricity supply, healthcare, education, and human rights, noting that Nigerians have become poorer and more frustrated since Tinubu assumed office.
“With this level of failure, it is not only insensitive but also reckless for anyone in the Tinubu Presidency to speak casually about a second term. The President should not be plotting to remain in power; he should be preparing to step aside. Nigerians have endured enough damage,” the party cautioned.
The ADC concluded by accusing Tinubu of trying to replicate at the national level the political monopoly he established in Lagos after serving as governor.
“Nigeria is not Lagos, and Nigerians are watching closely. In 2027, it will not be APC against ADC or any other party—it will be APC against the Nigerian people,” the statement added.
