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By Bayo Davids
A political pressure group, the Renewed Hope Grassroots Initiatives, has thrown its weight behind President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections, urging Nigerians to support what it described as a “continuity mandate” to sustain ongoing reforms.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, the group’s Director-General, Jaafaru Sa’ad, said the administration has recorded measurable progress despite inheriting long-standing economic and security challenges.
“Insecurity did not start with President Bola Tinubu. He inherited it from the four past Presidents, and he is dealing with it,” Sa’ad said. “Trying to blame President Tinubu for the security challenges is disingenuous.”
He noted that ongoing changes in the security and intelligence architecture would take time to yield results. “The President is redesigning the intelligence and security architecture he inherited and these things do not materialise overnight,” he added.
Sa’ad also entered the debate over tenure and power rotation, rejecting proposals for a single four-year presidential term, an idea associated with Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate. Obi has argued that a single term would reduce the cost of governance and eliminate distractions associated with re-election campaigns.
But Sa’ad warned that such a move could upset Nigeria’s political balance.
“In the spirit of equity, fairness and national unity, it becomes just and equitable for President Tinubu to be allowed the chance to complete his eight-year tenure,” he said.
He added that shortening the tenure could weaken the country’s informal zoning arrangement. “A single term of four years does not grant enough time to effect any substantive change and is capable of truncating the peaceful rotational presidency we have enjoyed,” Sa’ad stated.
Faulting proponents of the idea, he said, “Nigerians should be wary of desperate politicians. If they could not fix a state they governed in eight years, it exposes their lack of understanding of the complexities of governance.”
On the economy, Sa’ad pointed to what he described as improving indicators under the current administration, including easing inflation, rising foreign reserves and growing investor confidence.
“Economic growth is returning to Nigeria courtesy of the reforms being carried out by Mr President,” he said. “Inflation rate has dropped significantly, while foreign exchange reserves have risen to $46bn, the highest in seven years.”
He also cited Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list as a sign of progress in financial governance. “Its removal signals global confidence in Nigeria’s commitment to combating money laundering and terrorist financing,” he noted.
Sa’ad listed key reforms such as fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange adjustments and renewed investments in the oil and gas sector as drivers of recovery. On social interventions, he highlighted education-focused programmes, including the student loan scheme.
“Tinubu’s administration grants access to education for the poor and middle classes,” he said.
While acknowledging the hardship that has followed the reforms, he urged Nigerians to remain patient. “Reforms everywhere in the world come with pains Nigerians should endure today for a brighter and better future,” he said.
He called for nationwide support for the President’s second-term bid. “We call on all Nigerians to give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu another four years in 2027 to complete the work he has started,” Sa’ad said, adding that the group would mobilise grassroots backing across the country.