Former Senate President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Adolphus Wabara, highlighted that the ultimate decision regarding President Bola Tinubu’s fate in the 2027 election will rest with the Nigerian electorate, rather than a select group of governors.
Wabara was responding to the recent endorsement of Tinubu by APC governors as their exclusive candidate for the upcoming presidential race. While he acknowledged the governors’ decision to grant the President the right of first refusal—an approach he described as a common global practice—he cautioned that being the flag bearer of the ruling party does not guarantee victory at the polls.
He referenced the 2015 election, where then-sitting President Goodluck Jonathan, the PDP’s presidential candidate, lost to the opposition APC’s candidate, underscoring the unpredictability of electoral outcomes. The former Senate President urged the APC governors to let President Tinubu’s achievements speak for themselves as the election approaches.
He said that the Nigerian masses “who on daily basis, feel the impact of the APC-led Federal Government, are the only ones to decide the President’s fate in 2027”.
The PDP BoT Chairman argued that “it’s too early to overheat the polity with 2027 elections when INEC has not lifted ban on campaigns.
He “advised APC governors to rather concentrate on how to make life affordable for Nigerians, who are battling to survive the hardship inflicted on them by APC’s maladministration”.
He said: “I thank APC governors for respecting the age-long tradition of giving a first time President or governor the right of first refusal. I didn’t expect less.
“But I would like to remind them that governors do not have the mandate to decide who becomes President in 2027. Such right resides with the electorate.
“I think the APC should rather be preoccupied with how to make life better for millions of Nigerians, who have been forced into poverty due to APC’s misrule and bad economic policies.”
The former Senate President accused the APC of foisting one party system on Nigeria. He warned of the grave danger such drifting poses to the country’s democracy.
