Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has described the leadership crisis at the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) as further evidence of what he called the Tinubu administration’s growing governance failures, urging President Bola Tinubu to abandon any plans to seek re-election in 2027.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the recurring administrative controversies under the current administration have become an international embarrassment, arguing that Nigeria is increasingly being portrayed as a country where official pronouncements no longer command official compliance.

According to him, the uncertainty surrounding the leadership of the BCDA is the latest in a series of governance lapses that have undermined public confidence in government institutions.
“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?” he asked.

“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.”

Atiku argued that the controversy extends beyond personalities, noting that while the Presidency announced both the outgoing and incoming officials as Director-General, the law establishing the BCDA provides for an Executive Secretary as the agency’s chief executive, a designation the agency itself continues to recognise.

“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,” he said.
The former vice president said the BCDA controversy followed similar episodes involving other government agencies, including the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), where conflicting claims over the agency’s leadership created uncertainty over the implementation of presidential directives.

He also cited the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), policy reversals, and what he described as questionable budgetary allocations as examples of a broader pattern of administrative disorder.

“When one incident occurs, it may be dismissed as human error. When it happens repeatedly, it becomes evidence of systemic failure. From NIPOST to PFIPC and now BCDA, this administration has demonstrated an alarming inability to coordinate even routine governmental decisions. Governance has been reduced to improvisation, while Nigerians are left to bear the cost of the confusion.

“These are no longer isolated public relations mishaps; they point to a deeper crisis of coordination, competence and accountability at the highest levels of government,” he said.
Atiku further argued that the recurring controversies point to weak institutional coordination, inadequate legal vetting, poor consultation and a disregard for due process.
“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,” he added.

He called on the Presidency to clarify the legal status of the BCDA leadership, ensure that future appointments comply strictly with the enabling laws establishing public institutions and restore discipline to the machinery of government.

Atiku also urged President Tinubu to place national interest above political ambition.
“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 Nigerians’ expectations 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 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 nation,” he said.