By Kolawole Ojebisi
Reactions have begun to trail the declaration made by a founding member of Arewa Consultative Forum, (ACF), Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, on Sunday, that the 2027 presidential election is President Bola Tinubu’s to lose.
This is as opposition parties faulted Yakassai’s prognostication concerning the anticipated election, dismissing the elderstateman’s opinion as “outdated perspective” that demands “a rethink”.
While weighing in, the Coordinator of the Obidients Movement, a coalition of supporters of Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of Labour Party, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, said while the movement respects the age, wisdom and experience of the elder statesman, it disagreed with him on his position.
The movement made this claim in a statement issued on Monday, stressing that Tinubu’s scorecard in office will be his undoing come 2027.
Tanko said: “With all due respect to our elder statesmen, grandfather, father and uncle, we respect his opinions on issues. We, however, beg to disagree with him on Tinubu’s re-election.
“There are younger hands who are equipped and ready to rebuild Nigeria by doing a far better job than what President Bola Tinubu is doing.
“We urge him to have a rethink about his position because the rate of poverty and hunger inflicted on all parts of Nigeria, especially the north where he comes from, is unprecedented in our nation’s history.
“The level of youth unemployment, due to the fact that this administration’s policies have led to the shutting down of factories and small businesses; should be a deterrent to those wishing for another four years for Tinubu who, within two years, has shown us how bad leadership choices can ruin nations.
“Nepotism has reached a level that our founding fathers never imagined was possible in our multicultural and multi-ethnic society. Our economy is in shambles.
“We plead with him to help the younger generation by supporting the emergence of a younger, better prepared person, to take over and lead the nation to take its pride of place in the comity of nations.
Speaking in a similar vein, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, declared that President Tinubu would face a historic defeat in the 2027 presidential election, citing a growing coalition of frustrated Nigerians determined to reshape the country’s political landscape.
The party’s Deputy National Youth Leader, Mr Timothy Osadolor, dismissed Yakasai’s assessment as ‘outdated perspectives,’ accusing Tinubu’s administration of lacking the competence and vision to lead Nigeria.
Osadolor said: “The evidence on the ground clearly indicates that President Bola Tinubu would not only be a one-term president, but the margin with which he will lose would be so wide.
“This coalition is about the soul of Nigeria and the future of our unborn children. It cannot be derailed or mismanaged by an administration that lacks the competence and vision to lead…”
Recall that Yakassai had, on Sunday, declared that at the moment the odds are in favour of Tinubu to defeat any candidate from the opposition parties.
The elder stateman stated this in a chat with newsmen in Abuja.He added that he was not aware of any forum where the north took a position to support a candidate from the zone for the election.
He said: “I haven’t heard anybody making any proposition about the 2027 presidential election from Arewa Consultative Forum.
“What is tagged the Arewa Consultative Forum or Northern Elders Forum’s position is mere individual opinions, because all sections of the north have not taken a stand on this,” he said.
Yakasai had urged Nigerians should wait until the northerners meet and officially take a position.
