Baba-Ahmed says Tinubu has failed Nigerians, as 2027 campaign talk grows
- PRP chairman Hakeem Baba-Ahmed said on Channels TV that President Tinubu has failed on security and the economy.
- He said northerners are angry with Tinubu for the same reasons other Nigerians are, not for regional ones.
- A northern group, Arewa Voters Assembly, hit back, saying Baba-Ahmed's own 2027 plans will fail.
The national chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has said President Bola Tinubu has failed to deliver on his promises, pointing to insecurity, hardship and the cost of living as the reasons many Nigerians are angry.
He spoke on Tuesday on Channels Television's Politics Today, in an interview that touched on the 2027 general election, the economy and the sixth anniversary of the #EndSARS protest.
"He is a failure," Baba-Ahmed said of the President, arguing that although Tinubu inherited a poor country with weak institutions, three and a half years in office should have produced visible change.
He said the President's economic decisions were tough but not necessarily good, and that presenting statistics does not match what Nigerians face in the market and on the road.
North's anger 'not about region'
Asked about reports that the North is angry with the President, Baba-Ahmed said the feeling is not limited to one region. "The North is angry with Tinubu like other Nigerians are angry with Tinubu because he came here on the promise to fix a lot of the things that are wrong, and he didn't," he said.
He also questioned why the President would reportedly campaign in only a few places ahead of 2027, saying a leader seeking another term should be ready to meet voters and explain his policies.
On education, he asked how many children in areas held by bandits and kidnappers have been unable to attend school, and said loans alone do not answer that problem.
Marking six years since the #EndSARS protests, Baba-Ahmed said Nigeria has learnt nothing, noting that the panels set up after the 2020 protests raised hopes but their recommendations were not fully carried out. He said justice for those who died at Lekki Toll Gate and compensation for victims are still outstanding.
Group pushes back
His comments drew a sharp response from the Arewa Voters Assembly (AVA), which said in a statement signed by its national coordinator, Iliasu Musa, and secretary, Paul Katuka, that his reported 2027 political plans will fail.
The group accused Baba-Ahmed of letting personal grievances drive his politics and challenged him to say what ordinary Nigerians gained from his years in public service. It also disputed claims attributed to him about how former President Muhammadu Buhari viewed Tinubu, saying he was not close enough to Buhari to speak for him.
AVA warned against using ethnic and regional sentiment for political mobilisation, saying it could raise tension in a multi-ethnic country.
The exchanges come as parties position themselves for the 2027 elections, with the economy and security set to dominate the debate.
