Ex-lawmakers disown Tinubu endorsement, fault ‘contrived’ NFFL summit

A bid by Nigeria’s former federal lawmakers to project unity ahead of the 2027 general election has backfired, after a controversial endorsement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second-term ambition triggered open rebellion within their ranks.

A summit organised over the weekend under the platform of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL) to endorse the president has been repudiated by at least 17 former members of the National Assembly, who described the gathering and its outcome as deceptive and unauthorised.

The meeting, held on Saturday, was convened by the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, himself a former Speaker of the House of Representatives. It attracted a number of prominent retired lawmakers cutting across party lines, including former Senate Presidents Pius Anyim and Ken Nnamani, as well as former Speakers of the House of Representatives Patricia Etteh and Yakubu Dogara, among others.

At the end of the summit, the NFFL announced what it described as a collective endorsement of President Tinubu for a second term in office, presenting the decision as the unified position of Nigeria’s former federal legislators.

However, the claim quickly unravelled.

In a strongly worded joint statement issued later the same day, a group of former lawmakers rejected the endorsement, insisting that they neither participated in nor authorised any summit aimed at backing the president’s re-election.

“We state clearly, firmly, and without apology that we are not, and will never be, part of any contrived summit of ex-legislators being hurriedly assembled to endorse President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second-term ambition,” the statement said.

The dissenting lawmakers cautioned Nigerians against what they described as a staged political exercise, alleging that the gathering was driven more by inducements and selective invitations than by genuine consultation or collective consensus.

According to them, legitimacy cannot be manufactured through financial incentives or choreographed appearances.

“This gathering is nothing but a cash-and-carry political carnival, a rented crowd of handpicked individuals assembled to manufacture artificial legitimacy,” the statement declared.

They further argued that a small group of former legislators lacked either the moral standing or numerical strength to speak on behalf of the hundreds of former senators and members of the House of Representatives spread across the country.

“You cannot assemble a handful of loyalists behind closed doors, distribute inducements, and then falsely claim to speak for the conscience of hundreds of former legislators across Nigeria. That is deception. That is manipulation. That is democratic fraud,” the group said.

Beyond rejecting the endorsement, the former lawmakers expressed anger over what they described as the unauthorised appropriation of their collective identity, insisting that former legislators were not political commodities to be traded for advantage.

“Former legislators are not for sale. Our names are not commodities. Our legacy is not merchandise,” the statement read.

The group also questioned the growing emphasis on political endorsements rather than governance outcomes, urging the Tinubu administration to focus on addressing Nigeria’s pressing socio-economic challenges.

“If this administration believes it deserves a second term, let it present tangible results to Nigerians : security restored, hunger reduced, jobs created, and the economy stabilised. Endorsements do not govern a nation; performance does,” they said.

“Our voices cannot be rented. Nigeria’s democracy will not be auctioned to the highest bidder,” the statement concluded.

Those who signed the statement include Hon. Sergius Oguns, Hon. Herman Hembe, Hon. Sam Okwu, Hon. Zakari Mohammed, Hon. Tom Zakari, Hon. Mohammed Soba, Hon. Chika Adamu, Hon. Sadiq Ibrahim and Hon. Tajudeen Ajagbe.

Others are Hon. Supo Abiodun, Hon. Danlad Donald Olayonu, Hon. Abubakar Amuda Kannike, Hon. Rufus Omiri, Hon. Mayor Eze, Hon. Kamil Akinlabi, Hon. Shaaba Ibrahim, and Hon. Nkwo Nkole.