Get Guardian on GoogleThe Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO) has urged President Bola Tinubu to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and guarantee a free, fair and credible election, warning that growing public resentment against his administration could plunge the country into crisis.
The campaign organisation, which is backing the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, said the President should demonstrate statesmanship by respecting the growing clamour for a change of leadership across the country.
It said the increasing expressions of public anger against Tinubu, including his recent booing at the Shehu Shagari Central Mosque in Abuja, should serve as a warning that Nigerians were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with his administration.
In a statement on Sunday, the Director of Strategic Communications of MDPCO, Richard Nnanna Ihediwa, said the incident at the Abuja mosque last Friday was another indication of the growing rejection of the President’s leadership.
According to the organisation, the incident followed a similar demonstration in Lagos, where Tinubu was reportedly greeted with chants of “ole” upon his return from France.
It also cited alleged incidents of public dissatisfaction in Kaduna, Plateau, Rivers, Kebbi, Sokoto, Nasarawa and Osun states, among others, as evidence of what it described as widespread discontent with the administration.
The campaign organisation said the spontaneous expressions of public displeasure should compel Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to undertake a sober assessment of the administration’s performance, particularly its handling of the economy.
It attributed the growing resentment to what it described as accumulated hopelessness and frustration arising from poor leadership and the economic difficulties confronting millions of Nigerians.
Invoking the political philosophy of Italian diplomat and philosopher, Niccolò Machiavelli, the organisation warned that a ruler must avoid becoming hated or despised by the people, arguing that public resentment could undermine political authority and survival.
It accused President Tinubu of disregarding the hardship facing ordinary Nigerians, warning that the prospect of another four years under the APC could further deepen economic uncertainty and social discontent.
The organisation also cautioned the President against being misled by what it described as elite political conspiracies, the apparent strength of presidential power and the deployment of public resources to secure political support.
It maintained that sovereignty ultimately belonged to the people, insisting that Nigerians would determine the country’s political direction in 2027.
The MDPCO further warned that Tinubu should expect widespread electoral rejection if he insisted on seeking re-election, citing claims that about 140 million Nigerians, representing 63 per cent of the population, had been pushed into abject poverty.
It also claimed that more than 60 million Nigerians went to bed hungry daily, while over 30 million unemployed youths had been left frustrated by the administration’s economic policies.
On the petroleum sector, the organisation questioned how the President expected Nigerians to support his re-election when petrol prices had risen to between N1,400 and N2,000 per litre in different parts of the country.
It equally criticised the administration’s borrowing profile, alleging that Nigeria’s foreign debt had reached N166.7 trillion without corresponding improvements in citizens’ living conditions or clearly defined repayment plans.
“Mr President, the die is cast! Nigerians are determined for a change and they are not ready to accept any electoral manipulation that will perpetuate the current economic hardship and social uncertainties under the APC anti-people regime for another four years,” the statement said.
The campaign organisation urged Tinubu to heed what it described as the people’s demand for a new political direction, insisting that the APM, under Makinde, was prepared to provide the leadership required to reset the country.
It described Makinde’s proposed Reset Nigeria agenda as a solution-based alternative designed to promote purposeful governance, transparency, accountability and equal opportunities for citizens, irrespective of their background or connections.
The organisation said the proposed agenda would create a country where access to opportunities would not be determined by an individual’s place of origin, name or political connections.
It urged the President to abandon what it called political grandstanding and accept the need for a new leadership direction ahead of the 2027 general election.
