Television Nigerian

Recent endorsements of President Bola Tinubu by governors and All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders have been rejected by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Ahead of the 2027 elections, they were said to have labeled them as symptoms of desperation and panic. The opposition leaders are still optimistic that the ruling party would be defeated by their coalition.
Regardless of Tinubu’s support, Atiku’s media adviser, Paul Ibe, stated his strong optimism that the alliance can contest and win the general elections in 2027.

Ibe said that the alliance is unfazed by political wrangling and compared its position to that of a student who has studied hard for an exam, according to Vanguard.

“You can sleep well the night before a test and wake up certain that you can pass if you’ve studied hard for it. That’s our coalition’s stance,” Ibe stated.

The Nigerian people, not the ruling party’s political maneuvers, will be the real judges of the 2027 election, he continued.

Ibe added, “This administration’s terrified mood is evident in the recent endorsements. Insurgents are regaining territory in Borno State and other areas, causing an unprecedented level of insecurity. Due to the exorbitant cost of living, families are finding it difficult to cover their basic expenses. But instead of addressing these pressing problems, the government has mostly concentrated on playing political games.

Along with accusing Tinubu’s administration of using anti-corruption agencies to pressure opposition politicians into joining the APC, he said that political pressure was the primary cause of many of these defections rather than ideological reasons.

“Ideology or preference for the APC are not the driving forces behind these defections,” Ibe claimed. They are forcing politicians to join the ruling party and holding them captive. Former governors and the current administration are targeting some for corruption, forcing them to pay a ransom that shows up as defections.

“Defectors are being pressured in Delta State and other places by means of the so-called ‘quiet bomb.'”

Read Also: Coalition Agenda Merely a Performance for Tinubu – APC’s Eta on El-Rufai

Crisis Denied, Endorsements Criticized by PDP
In his comments, PDP National Organizing Secretary Umar Bature also said that endorsements do not ensure election success.

He brought up the fact that former President Goodluck Jonathan lost the 2014 election even though he had the support of 21 governors.

According to Bature, Tinubu has 22 supporters. Don’t worry about anything. The only thing left to do is wait. Whether you have done the right thing for the country is the question, not whether you have been endorsed. Promotions are only for show. They are used when people realize they aren’t acting in the best interests of the people they purport to represent. A crisis does not exist. Simply put, members are voicing their opinions. Time will tell whether or not they declare their desire to leave the party. These problems will be resolved on their own.

After failing to get a position in the current administration, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai chose to join the effort to establish a coalition against President Bola Tinubu, according to former All Progressives Congress (APC) National Vice Chairman Hilliard Eta.
El-Rufai, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) 2023 presidential candidate, were reportedly leading the effort to establish a coalition against Tinubu.
There is nothing unique about El-Rufai, Eta said during an appearance on AIT Focus Nigeria, emphasizing that he and other individuals played a bigger role in electing Tinubu as president than the former governor.

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Tinubu is an expert at establishing alliances, the APC chieftain said, dismissing the coalition move.
He stated that the most of them were once friends of the current president, and individuals such as El-Rufai believed he may be appointed Minister under Asiwaju.

You raise the question of whether El-Rufai would be working on coalition today if he had been minister at the time. He would undoubtedly be showing Nigerians his report card at this point in his government, whether he wants to or not.

“Let me tell El-Rufai that if we couldn’t be ministers, why should he be special? People like us played a bigger role in the president’s creation than he did.

Individuals like Kwankwaso and Aregbesola were strong allies of Tinubu; they are self-centered and narrow-minded.

“Keep in mind that this is the maestro of coalition building; he has been there since the days of NADECO. Keep that in mind while you are fighting and trying to construct a coalition.

Since self-preservation, not enlightenment, is what motivates many of our people to enter politics, what you are doing now is really a game for him. What makes you believe that it won’t come to you later if it hasn’t come to you yet? Even if it doesn’t affect you personally, everyone benefits when the nation improves.

Solomon Dalung, who served as Youth and Sports Minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari, has given the Bola Tinubu administration a low performance rating.
When assessing the state of affairs in the nation, Dalung bemoaned the fact that Nigeria had never experienced such a dire situation.
He said that the government has done a terrible job in its first two years in office and blamed President Tinubu’s administration for the economic problems that many citizens have experienced as a result of government policies.

According to reports, the former Minister claimed in an interview with Vanguard that the president had done a lousy job and that the impoverished Nigerians will punish him in the upcoming presidential election.

Read Also: What Atiku Told Peter Obi and Northern Delegation During Crucial Meeting

He claims that President Tinubu’s performance has fallen short of 10 percent.

Given that good governance improves people’s well-being and that openness, accountability, and justice are its indices, I believe that the nation’s level of good governance has never been worse than it is now, at least not in the last two years.

These three paradigms from the previous two years have vanished. Thus, the administration has done a lousy job if I were to rate them on good governance. Less than 10% is their score,” Dalung stated.

As coalition talks heat up ahead of the 2027 presidential election, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, met with northern political leaders from across the 19 northern states on Thursday.
According to reports, hundreds of political figures from Abuja came together for the event, which was organized by the secretariat of the newly formed coalition and was sponsored by the National Political Consultative Group (NPCG) North.

Atiku Abubakar, a prominent supporter of opposition unity, reflected on his tenure alongside former President Olusegun Obasanjo during his speech.

In particular, he recalled how they responded to the Boko Haram insurgency, mentioning the directive given to military chiefs to either put an end to the insurgency or step down.

“This ultimatum was successful. In just a few weeks or months, the insurgency was crushed. It was finished by the time we left. I was totally taken aback. However, when we departed, it reappeared,” Atiku said, stressing that the problem was not entirely resolved.

Additionally, Atiku emphasized the administration’s initiatives to address police shortcomings, bringing up the notable underpolicing in Nigeria as documented by the UN.

“I told the president that Nigeria is woefully underpoliced,” What can we do, he asked? I informed him that there were other police colleges that had been shut down throughout the states and recommended that they be reopened with additional policemen. And that’s exactly what we did,” Atiku remembered.

Atiku continued by outlining how the Obasanjo government adopted a novel strategy for acquiring police weapons, avoiding onerous contracting processes and speaking with police personnel and diplomats directly to obtain necessary equipment.

But in spite of these initiatives, Atiku pointed out that Nigeria still has a terrible police-to-population ratio, with 340,000 officers charged with protecting 240 million people. He drew attention to the sharp contrast with Egypt, which has one million police officers for every 100 million citizens.

Atiku emphasized the necessity of thorough reforms in Nigeria’s security sector, saying, “These are challenges we must face head-on.”

Atiku then turned to education, considering the measures implemented to increase access, especially in the North, under the Obasanjo government. He referenced the Universal Basic Education Act, which mandated that all Nigerian children receive free primary and secondary education, as well as the implementation of an education tax to fund educational programs.

Read Also: Atiku, Peter Obi, Amaechi, & Other Top Coalition Leaders Hold Crucial Expanded Meeting in Abuja

While describing a trip to Daura, President Muhammadu Buhari’s hometown, where he saw the scope of the Almajiri situation, Atiku too broke down in tears.

“I almost cried,” he remarked. There were throngs of Almajiri children on the flight from Katsina airport to Daura. Many of our early republic leaders attended the erstwhile Katsina College, which is located here. Almajirai—young lads in their twenties, thirties, and forties, from Katsina to Daura and back again—have taken over it today, he claimed.

“These are highly important problems. They are about our kids and grandkids as well as us.

“Thank God I’ve lived my life,” I say to my kids. But you and your children are the focus of this. These difficulties must be addressed.