Wait for 2027 to test your popularity – Tinubu tells Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai, others
• Tinubu, Atiku, & Obi
The Bola Tinubu administration has urged opposition leaders looking to test their popularity among Nigerians to hold off until the 2027 general election.
Sunday Dare, the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, made this statement in a post on X late Saturday night.
Recently, the Tinubu’s Presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have faced significant criticism for allegedly instigating turmoil within opposition parties.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar accused Tinubu of paying N50 million to certain opposition figures to undermine the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a claim that the APC has strongly refuted.
An APC chieftain and former Kaduna governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai described the current state of governance and opposition as a “national emergency.”
El-Rufai spoke at a national conference in Abuja on strengthening democracy in Nigeria on Monday.
Saying he no longer recognised the APC, the ex-governor urged opposition parties to unite and form a broad coalition to challenge the ruling party and protect democracy.
However, Dare charged the opposition figures to wait for the next general election to show their might.
He said, “While President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria was away in far away Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania, his political opponents, detractors, opposition elements, psuedo friends unfolded their Machiavellian inclinations.
“Indeed, while the President was seeking solutions to Nigerias’ energy problems in Dar es Salaam, some “wannabes “were heating up the polity.
“Expectedly, it was a gathering convened to further spread ill-will. Nothing new came out of the gathering different from the opposition script we are used to. A few of the participants went overboard in their vitriol, fanning the embers for adopting undemocratic actions.
“These political gladiators have antecedents that are well known. We urge Nigerians to begin their scrutiny early. And choose between political hecklers and real progressives. The clouds are beginning to clear. The stage sets soon. The combat begins.
“Until then, President Tinubu, an avowed democrat remains undistracted and unperturbed. The fight is ahead. Not now. The only conversation he wants to have now is how to improve the lives of Nigerian citizens and constructive discourse on building a resilient economy.
“This is 2025. Not 2027. Let those who want to test their popularity with Nigerians wait for the next election. President Tinubu is fully focused on providing the leadership that will transform our country.”
