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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Tinubu Must Stay Movement (TMSM), a support group within the All Progressives Congress (APC), has defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to limit his appearances at campaign rallies ahead of the 2027 general elections, insisting that governance should not suffer because of his re-election bid.
The group said the President’s performance and achievements in office should provide sufficient grounds for Nigerians to assess his re-election bid, arguing that abandoning the demands of governance to attend rallies across the 36 states would be counterproductive at a time the country was grappling with serious economic and security challenges.
Director-General of the movement, Marcel Ngogbehei, who spoke to journalists in Abuja, dismissed concerns over Tinubu’s proposed absence from some campaign activities, describing the arrangement as a deliberate departure from the tradition of political officeholders devoting much of their tenure to preparing for another election.
He said the President had opted to delegate campaign responsibilities to his political associates and supporters while concentrating on the day-to-day administration of the country.
“One of the greatest challenges we are having in this country is the time to govern and the time to do electioneering. So, a president gets into office, and just like, one year after he gets into office, they start preparing for the next election.
“And what suffers? Governance suffers. As a CEO of a company, you have four years, right? And then the culture of the country that has developed over time is that a year into your tenure, you start preparing for the next. Governance is abandoned, and electioneering takes over.”
Ngogbehei maintained that the President’s decision should not be interpreted as a lack of commitment to his re-election campaign, but as an attempt to strike a balance between his constitutional responsibilities and political engagements.
According to him, Tinubu believes his campaign organisation and political associates should be able to communicate the administration’s achievements and policies to voters without requiring his presence at every rally.
“The President has said, ‘I want to focus on governance. I want to keep an eye on the operational things that are happening, keep an eye on the key things I am doing. Let the people I have worked with go out there and do the work,’” he said.
“He also said that in some instances where he needs to come in, he will come in. It is pure delegation. Every good leader must not always be there. If you are a leader that has built resources, that has built people, you should trust your people to do the job.”
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The TMSM director-general argued that effective leadership required building institutions and delegating responsibilities rather than concentrating every political and administrative function in one individual.
“We don’t want to have a country where you have strong personalities and weak institutions. And that is what we are trying to build for Nigeria.
“As the DG, I have a lot of people that are working with me. There are instances where I have to ask them to step in. There are instances where I have to be, then imagine the President.”
Ngogbehei questioned the wisdom of expecting Tinubu to attend campaign rallies in all 36 states while simultaneously overseeing the affairs of government, particularly given the challenges confronting the country.
“If he says that he is going to be in all the campaigns in thirty-six states of the country, what suffers? That’s the bottom line. What is he giving up for that to happen?
“We are in a very difficult situation in this country where you need attention to details. Let us understand with him. There are a lot of insinuations out there. He can go round the country if he wants to go round, and he has been going round. But let’s just understand with him in this particular instance,” he appealed.
The group also challenged critics of Tinubu’s economic reforms to present credible alternatives rather than merely condemn the administration’s policies.
Ngogbehei called for a transparent and factual national debate on the long-term implications of the government’s socioeconomic reforms, arguing that public assessment of the President should take account of the circumstances under which he assumed office and the policy choices available to his administration.
“We are not defending Tinubu as a person. We are looking at the initiatives he has taken and asking ourselves whether, based on the circumstances in which he got into power, they are the right moves or the wrong moves,” he said.
“If you say they are the wrong moves, if you were there, what would you do differently?”
He maintained that Nigerians should assess Tinubu’s re-election bid on the basis of his administration’s policies, achievements and their impact rather than the frequency of his appearances at political rallies.
