ADC to Tinubu: Nigeria is not Lagos, forget 2031

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA – The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the Presidency’s assurance that President Bola Tinubu has no plan to extend his stay in office beyond 2031, insisting that his constitutional mandate expires in 2027 and warning against any attempt to normalise tenure elongation.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said Nigerians would not wish to extend the President’s rule ‘by a single day’ given what it described as widespread insecurity, economic hardship, and abuse of power under his administration.

“Given the spate of banditry and killings raging across the country, the widespread hunger and suffering, the punitive taxes, the flagrant abuse of power at a scale never seen before, the President should be preparing to leave in 2027. 

“Any plan to stay in office beyond that date would indeed be a confirmation that this government is incapable of reading the room,” Abdullahi said.

The ADC’s statement came after the Presidency dismissed claims by former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, that President Tinubu harboured ambitions of becoming a ‘life President.’

“The Presidency’s desperate response to the recent remarks by former governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, only serves to confirm what Nigerians have long suspected: this administration is not only out of touch with reality, it has also become dangerously self-satisfied,” the ADC declared.

The party accused Tinubu of treating re-election as a given, without accountability to the Nigerian people.

“That the President is already speaking of remaining in office till 2031 betrays a mindset that dismisses re-election as mere formalities, rather than a constitutional requirement to present his score card to the people. But re-election is not automatic, and President Tinubu has not earned a second term,” it stated.

On national security, the ADC said bandits and terrorists had taken control of swathes of the North, operating with impunity and even levying taxes on citizens.

“Under his watch, national security has degenerated into a cruel joke. Terrorists, bandits, and criminals now operate with total impunity. Citizens are kidnapped in broad daylight. Rural communities have become warzones,” Abdullahi said.

The party also painted a bleak picture of the economy, accusing the administration of collapsing the naira, fuelling inflation, and destroying businesses.

“The naira has collapsed. Inflation is out of control. Food prices have tripled in many parts of the country. Jobs are vanishing. The middle class is disappearing. Businesses that once thrived are collapsing under the weight of punitive taxes and policy inconsistencies,” the ADC argued.

The party further criticised the government’s handling of power supply, healthcare, education, and human rights, noting that Nigerians were left poorer and angrier since Tinubu assumed office.

“Given this comprehensive failure, it is not only insensitive but downright dangerous for anyone in the Tinubu presidency to speak so glibly of a second term. The President should not be plotting to stay. He should be preparing to leave. He has done enough damage,” the party warned.

The ADC further accused Tinubu of trying to replicate at the national level the political dominance he had maintained in Lagos since leaving office as governor in 2007.

“Let it be said clearly and without ambiguity: Nigeria is not Lagos. Nigerians are watching. And come 2027, it won’t be APC versus ADC, it will be APC versus the Nigerian people,” the party added.

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