Former Sokoto State Governor and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Aminu Tambuwal, has challenged supporters of President Bola Tinubu in northern Nigeria to defend his performance in office rather than rely on his political relationships with opposition figures to justify his re-election bid.
He said Tinubu’s supporters had failed to demonstrate what he had achieved since taken over the baton of leadership.
Tambuwal argued that the administration’s record on the economy, security and infrastructure offered little justification for another term.
He spoke at the presidential campaign flag-off of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Sokoto.
Tambuwal described Tinubu’s leadership as a woeful failure and called for an end to APC’s administration in 2027.
According to him, Tinubu’s political supporters in the North were more interested in recalling his previous alliances with Atiku Abubakar in 2007, Nuhu Ribadu in 2011 and former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and 2019 than explaining his achievements as president.
“They are not campaigning on his scorecard. He is a sitting president. What has he done? What has he achieved in the last three and a half years?” Tambuwal asked.
He said political affiliations, regional considerations and loyalty to familiar political figures should not override the need to demand accountable leadership.
“So, it is not about supporting our own leaders. It is about delivering leadership to this country,” he said.
Tambuwal said the country’s worsening economic and security conditions had exposed the administration’s failure to meet the expectations it created during the 2023 presidential campaign.
He listed electricity supply, insecurity, roads and infrastructure among the areas where Tinubu had allegedly failed to deliver on his promises.
“When Bola Tinubu was campaigning, he promised to improve electricity supply in the country. Has he been able to do that? Has he done anything about insecurity in Nigeria? What about roads and infrastructure? Nothing,” he said.
Tambuwal further accused the administration of presiding over widespread hunger, poverty and killings.
He insisted that Nigeria had moved backwards rather than made progress under the APC government.
“Nigeria has been retrogressing. There is a lot of hunger, a lot of poverty and a lot of killings all over Nigeria,” he said.
The ruling party, he noted, had lost the moral justification to remain in power.
He urged Nigerians to support the ADC’s bid to unseat it in the 2027 elections.
“Therefore, they have no business whatsoever remaining in power,” he declared.
Tambuwal, however, warned that opposition victory would depend not only on securing votes but also on ensuring that election results were properly monitored and protected throughout the collation process.
He urged ADC supporters and party agents to accompany polling-unit results through successive collation centres, from wards to local governments and state headquarters, to prevent manipulation.
The former governor said supporters must remain at polling units until votes were counted and results announced
He warned that the opposition would not tolerate electoral malpractice.
“Come January 2027, by the grace of God, we shall come out and vote for Atiku Abubakar and all candidates of the ADC and remain at the polling units until the votes are counted and the results declared.
“This time around, nobody should be allowed to get away with rigging the election”, he said.
He expressed confidence that the ADC would work assiduously to win the forthcoming elections.
