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By Myke Agunwa, Abuja
The comments credited to the new National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, that there would be “no vacancy in Aso Rock” come 2027, has been described by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as presumptuous, stating that the president must reapply and give account of his stewardship.
The National Chairman of APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, had on Tuesday, declared that there would be no vacancy in the Presidency come 2027, urging opposition parties, particularly the ADC to abandon their aspirations of unseating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He boasted that ruling party would dominate the 2027 general elections, leaving no room for any opposition party to gain ground.
But in a statement issued on Wednesday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, described the remark as presumptuous, insisting that the Presidency of Nigeria is not a hereditary office, but a mandate that must be earned and renewed through performance and public trust.
According to the opposition party, the APC’s “no vacancy” statement betrays an arrogant mindset, that appears to overlook the right of Nigerian people to choose.
The ADC warned that the APC should guide against utterances that could further suggest that people’s votes would not count.
He said that such an is disrespectful of Nigerian people, who are tired of hunger, insecurity, joblessness, and unfulfilled promises, and therefore cannot wait to reclaim their future at the ballot box.
The coalition party said, “We understand why APC is afraid, and would wish that they could somehow avoid that day of reckoning with the ballot box. The very fact of periodic elections means that every incumbent must renew its mandate. Therefore, regardless of what APC thinks, there will be vacancy at the Presidential Villa in 2027. President Tinubu must re-apply to the Nigerian people, and he must show Nigerians why they should allow him to continue on the job, despite his ruinous policies that have made life miserable for the majority.
“In 2027, APC and President Tinubu will be evaluated based on Key Performance Indicators (KPI) of youth employment, security of lives, hunger and poverty, electricity supply, and justice to all. And no amount of propaganda can change their report cards in the eyes of Nigerians.
“While the APC government and its media operatives continue to clap for themselves, and awarding themselves medals of excellence, the price of food has continued to rise beyond the reach of majority of Nigerians, ever increasing number of our communities are being taken over by bandits, and our Naira remains battered and broken.
“This is why, to declare “no vacancy” two years before an election, is to spit in the face of every Nigerian who still believes in their democratic power. It is to say: your vote does not matter. It is to mock the pain of the mothers and fathers who cannot afford food, the graduate who cannot find a job, and the entrepreneurs whose businesses have collapsed due to no fault of theirs”.
ADC argued that President Bola Tinunu will have to reapply for the job of leading this country in 2027, as they will not mark their own papers