ADC to Tinubu: You are a one-term president

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has dismissed claims by the Presidency that President Bola Tinubu intends to remain in office until 2031, insisting that his mandate ends in 2027 and warning that Nigerians will not extend his tenure by “a single day.”

In a statement on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the Presidency’s reaction to former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai’s allegation that Tinubu harbours plans of becoming a life president “confirms what Nigerians have long suspected—that this government is out of touch with reality and dangerously self-satisfied.”

“The idea that the President is already speaking of remaining in office till 2031 betrays a mindset that treats re-election as a mere formality rather than a constitutional requirement to earn a fresh mandate from Nigerians. But re-election is not automatic, and Tinubu has not earned a second term,” Abdullahi stated.

The opposition party accused the administration of worsening insecurity, poverty, and disunity across the country, arguing that Tinubu’s record after two years in power is proof that his presidency should not continue beyond 2027.

“More innocent lives have been lost under him, and bandits have effectively taken control of large swathes of the North. While the President taxes people and businesses to death from Abuja, bandits impose their own taxes in rural communities,” the statement read.

According to the ADC, insecurity has degenerated into “a national trauma,” with terrorists and bandits operating with impunity as government appears incapable of restoring order.

On the economy, the party accused Tinubu of presiding over collapse, noting that the naira has tumbled, inflation has surged, and food prices have tripled in many parts of the country.

“The middle class is disappearing, businesses are shutting down, and Nigerians are now poorer, hungrier, and angrier than they were before Tinubu took office,” Abdullahi added.

The party maintained that Tinubu should focus on addressing the crises of hunger, insecurity, and unemployment, rather than contemplating tenure extension.