Don’t run in 2027, find a younger successor – Baba-Ahmed advises Tinubu

Former spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should reconsider seeking re-election in 2027 and instead rally behind a younger, healthier and more focused successor within the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Baba-Ahmed, who resigned in April as Special Adviser on Political Matters in the office of the Vice-President, made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

The elder statesman said Tinubu has not shown the urgency or hunger required to tackle Nigeria’s mounting crises, despite his long-established reputation as a master political strategist.

“I’m sorry, but I have to say this again. When I left his administration, one of the things I told many people was, I wish President Tinubu would not run again in 2027,” he said.

He recalled that Tinubu had made it clear that becoming president was his long-standing ambition, adding that having now achieved that goal, he appears to have lost the drive to govern decisively.

“He said ‘emi lokan’, and he had his turn. But I don’t think he has run the country well.

The Tinubu we used to know, the one with brilliant intelligence for scheming, hasn’t shown that same hunger to fix things.”

Baba-Ahmed argued that if Tinubu could marshal the political strength to secure defections from across party lines, then he possesses the influence to rally the APC behind a more vibrant successor.

He said Nigeria is far too fragile for complacent leadership, adding that the President’s recent conduct, including his response to sensitive national issues, which he compared to the approach of former US President Donald Trump, reflects a worrying lack of urgency.

“I didn’t see a president who should respond to an emergency with the spirit he should. And it’s not just on this issue,” he said.

“The truth is that Nigeria has deteriorated so badly that we cannot continue to run things as if they’re normal.”

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