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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged President Bola Tinubu to withdraw from the 2027 presidential contest, citing alleged “serial governance blunders” under his administration.
Atiku, who is also the African Democratic Congress (ADC) 2027 presidential candidate, said the leadership crisis at the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) indicates that pronouncements by the present administration “no longer command official obedience.”
President Tinubu recently appointed a new Executive Secretary for the BCDA. However, the former occupant of the office is reportedly yet to vacate it.
The former Vice President, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the BCDA controversy is only the latest in a disturbing pattern of alleged institutional disorder under the present administration.
He noted that a similar confusion had engulfed the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), where conflicting claims over the leadership of the agency allegedly left Nigerians wondering which presidential directive was authentic.
Atiku said: “How does a President publicly appoint a new head of a federal agency, yet weeks later the person said to have been replaced remains in office, continues to exercise authority, appears on the agency’s official website as its chief executive, and even holds official meetings with ministers? What exactly is the Presidency asking Nigerians and the international community to believe?
“The embarrassment is becoming too much for us as a nation. We cannot continue to market Nigeria as a serious investment destination while our own government cannot determine who heads one of its agencies. Every needless contradiction chips away at our national credibility. Investors are watching. Development partners are watching. The world is watching.”
Furthermore, the former Vice President, while stating that the confusion goes beyond personalities, observed that while the Presidency announced both the outgoing and incoming officials of the BCDA as Director-General, the law establishing the agency provides for an Executive Secretary as the chief executive.
“This is not a mere typographical error. It raises legitimate questions about whether the appointment process was subjected to the most basic legal scrutiny before it was announced. Government is not conducted by guesswork.”
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Atiku added that the BCDA crisis is coming on the heels of a succession of avoidable controversies that have diminished public confidence in government. He noted that the recurring crises suggest deeper problems within government, including alleged weak institutional coordination, inadequate legal vetting, poor consultation, and disregard for due process.
“The nation has equally witnessed persistent public questions over controversial budgetary allocations to agencies for projects that appear unrelated to their statutory mandates, as well as repeated policy reversals that have left citizens, investors and development partners uncertain about the direction of government.”
Atiku, while calling on the Presidency to immediately clarify the legal status of the BCDA leadership and ensure that all future appointments strictly comply with the enabling laws, admonished the President to jettison his re-election plan.
“A government that struggles to carry out a straightforward leadership transition within its own agencies cannot inspire confidence in its capacity to tackle insecurity, revive the economy, implement meaningful reforms, or manage the nation’s finances transparently. Competence is not proclaimed; it is demonstrated.”
“Having presided over an administration that has lurched from one avoidable controversy to another, from policy reversals to institutional confusion, from worsening economic hardship to repeated governance failures, President Tinubu should take an honest look at the state of the nation and draw the only honourable conclusion.
“Rather than diverting public attention to an early re-election campaign, he should devote whatever remains of his tenure to addressing the pressing challenges confronting the nation or, better still, acknowledge that he has fallen short of the expectations of Nigerians and gracefully withdraw from the 2027 presidential contest.
“Nigeria cannot afford another four years of drift, confusion and avoidable embarrassment. The Presidency is a sacred public trust, not a personal entitlement. Every kobo of public resources should be directed towards improving the lives of Nigerians—not towards premature political campaigns while millions of citizens battle hunger, insecurity, unemployment and despair.
“History remembers leaders not for how desperately they sought to retain power, but for the wisdom they displayed in knowing when they had lost the confidence and goodwill of the people. For the sake of Nigeria’s future, President Tinubu should put the country first, abandon any re-election bid, and allow Nigerians the opportunity to choose a leadership capable of restoring competence, accountability, constitutional fidelity and hope to our beloved nation,” Atiku stated.
