Baba-Ahmed: Tinubu has nothing to say to Nigerians ahead of 2027
- PRP chairman Hakeem Baba-Ahmed called President Tinubu a failure in a Channels TV interview on Tuesday.
- He said insecurity and economic hardship have worsened and that the President has little to tell voters.
- He also said Nigeria has learnt nothing six years after the EndSARS protests.
The national chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has said President Bola Tinubu has nothing to say to Nigerians as the 2027 general election draws closer, describing the administration as a failure.
Baba-Ahmed said this on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television's Politics Today, where he criticised the government over insecurity, economic hardship and the effect of its policies on ordinary people.
He argued that while the President inherited a poor country with weak institutions, three and a half years in power should have produced visible change. "He is a failure," Baba-Ahmed said.
On the campaign and the economy
The PRP chairman questioned reports that Tinubu would campaign in only a few places, asking why the President would not commit to meeting Nigerians face to face and explaining his policies.
"He has nothing to say to Nigerians," Baba-Ahmed said, adding that the President appeared to be leaving the campaign to others while staying in Abuja.
On the economy, he said the tough decisions taken by the administration were "anti-people", arguing that a hard choice is not automatically a good one. He dismissed the government's economic statistics as propaganda that does not match what Nigerians feel in the market and on the road.
He also raised concerns about education, asking how many children in areas troubled by bandits and kidnappers are unable to attend school at all.
On security, he said the situation has "never been worse", and he questioned why a government that knew its policies would have major economic effects did not plan for the immediate cost to citizens, especially transport.
Six years after EndSARS
Baba-Ahmed also spoke about the sixth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests, saying Nigeria has learnt nothing from the 2020 demonstrations.
He said the issues that pushed young Nigerians to the streets remain: police brutality, a lack of accountability and poor governance. Disbanding the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was not enough, he said, and the recommendations of the judicial panels set up after the protests were not fully carried out.
He pointed to police firing tear gas at youths marking the anniversary at Lekki Toll Gate on Tuesday as proof that little has changed.
"Until justice is served for those who died at Lekki and compensation is paid, the wound will remain," he said.
The presidency has not responded to the comments in the reports reviewed.
What happens next
The remarks add to the growing political debate ahead of the 2027 elections, where the cost of living, security and jobs are expected to dominate. How the Tinubu campaign and the presidency answer these criticisms will shape the argument put to voters.
