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A presidential aspirant of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Engr. (Dr.) Yakubu Mohammed Kingsley, has publicly broken ranks with the party’s National Chairman, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, over the latter’s call for President Bola Tinubu to resign over worsening insecurity in the country.
Baba-Ahmed had, in a statement issued on June 4, accused the President of failing in his constitutional duty to protect lives and property amid escalating insecurity nationwide and called on him to step down.
However, in a statement personally signed and made available to newsmen in Abuja yesterday, Kingsley said he did not support the call for the President’s resignation, arguing that Nigeria’s democracy provides constitutional mechanisms for leadership transition.
Titled “A Message of Hope to the Nigerian People: Nigeria Shall Rise Again,” the statement said the country’s priority should be strengthening its institutions and preparing for the 2027 general elections rather than pursuing the President’s resignation.
Kingsley, who is currently contesting in court the outcome of the PRP’s May 25 presidential primary, which produced former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke as the party’s candidate, said Nigeria’s greatest challenge “has never been a shortage of resources but the need for visionary leadership and institutional discipline.”
He acknowledged the toll of insecurity and economic hardship on citizens, citing job losses, business closures and the inability of farmers to safely cultivate their land due to insecurity.
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He said graduates remained unemployed despite their talents, adding that these hardships cut across ethnic, religious, regional and political lines.
Recounting his background, Kingsley said he was born into a humble family in Auchi, Edo State, and hawked pap to support his household before attending school. He said the experience shaped his commitment to creating opportunities for ordinary Nigerians.
He cited his 25 years at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), where he said he worked on petroleum infrastructure, pipeline systems, refinery improvement and strategic national planning. The experience, he said, convinced him that Nigeria’s problems stem from leadership and implementation gaps rather than a lack of resources.
While extending condolences to families who have lost loved ones to insecurity and expressing sympathy to workers and entrepreneurs facing hardship, Kingsley maintained that calling for the President’s resignation was not the answer.
He said his proposed YMK Nigeria Project would focus on national security, electricity, industrialisation, hydrocarbon development, agriculture, youth empowerment, infrastructure, transparent governance and economic diversification.
