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Member representing Agege Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Wale Ahmed, has asked former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to shelve his 2027 presidential ambition until 2031, arguing that the South should be allowed to complete eight years in the presidency.
Ahmed, an All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker, also suggested that Atiku’s route to the presidency could lie in returning to the ruling party rather than pursuing what he described as a renewed controversy over President Bola Tinubu’s credentials.
His intervention followed a fresh legal challenge reportedly instituted by Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking Tinubu’s disqualification from the 2027 presidential election over allegations concerning his NYSC certificate.
Ahmed described the renewed controversy surrounding Tinubu’s academic and NYSC credentials as a tiresome political distraction and challenged the opposition to confront the President with alternative policies rather than recycled allegations.
“I respect the life ambition of Atiku to be President, but for now he should know that the Presidency remains in the South. A southerner must have his eight-year tenure, just as the North did between 2015 and 2023,” he said.
Ahmed maintained that Atiku should recognise Tinubu’s bid for a second term and allow the administration to complete its programmes.
“Atiku should know that longevity belongs to God. He could still be President in 2031, only if he retraces his steps to the All Progressives Congress (APC),” he said.
The lawmaker said political actors had a right to subject public officials to scrutiny but argued that the 2027 contest should primarily be fought over competing ideas and solutions to Nigeria’s problems.
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“Nigerians deserve a campaign of ideas, not an endless recycling of allegations. If anybody believes President Tinubu has failed, let that person tell Nigerians what he will do differently and how he will do it,” Ahmed said.
He questioned the continued emphasis on the President’s credentials rather than the economy, security, infrastructure, employment and other issues affecting Nigerians.
Ahmed said the fresh legal challenge remained before the court and stressed that the allegations against the President had not been judicially established.
“There is a difference between legitimate scrutiny and political obsession. If there is a case before a court, let the court determine it. But an election campaign cannot be reduced to litigating the same allegations repeatedly,” he said.
He also cautioned against conflating the Nigerian certificate controversy with a separate legal dispute in the United States involving records connected with a historical investigation and civil forfeiture proceedings concerning funds associated with Tinubu.
Ahmed maintained that Tinubu should ultimately be judged by his performance in office and the direction of his administration rather than allegations still subject to legal and political contestation.
“2027 cannot be reduced to who can shout loudest about a certificate. Nigerians are asking a bigger question: who has the ideas and capacity to move Nigeria forward?” he said.
Reaffirming his support for Tinubu’s re-election, the lawmaker said the country needed continuity and consolidation of reforms already underway.
