The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) has called on President Bola Tinubu to abandon plans for a second term in 2027, describing his administration’s performance as “manifestly disappointing.”
In a communiqué dated July 9 and signed by its national chairman, Samuel Gani, the forum said the federal government’s record on national security, economic development, and citizen welfare has been “hugely sub-optimal.”
It urged the President to instead redirect his remaining time in office toward institutional reform.
The group said, “The direction in which the Tinubu presidency is leading the nation offers increasing apprehension rather than hope and this state of affairs has left all patriots with no option but to call on President Tinubu to please desist from seeking re-election for a second term.
But instead “like a statesman with an eye on history and posterity, to earnestly commit the rest of his tenure to restructuring Nigeria and giving her a new constitution.”
Beyond opposing Tinubu’s re-election, the NCEF also weighed in on who should succeed him, throwing its support behind a southern candidate and effectively rejecting the candidacy of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is running on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The forum acknowledged that Nigeria’s north-south power rotation arrangement is not constitutionally binding, but argued it remains vital to national cohesion.
“And for that reason, patriots are urged to support a southern candidature in 2027 for the four remaining years of the south’s current turn,” it said.
The elders also reiterated long-standing objections to Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, calling it “tone-deaf and grossly insensitive” given the scale of insecurity facing Christian communities.
The group said the ticket was particularly troubling at a time when terrorists are “ravaging the country, and Christians are at the receiving end of the widespread violence, unabated killings and unspeakable atrocities.”
Turning to the institutions expected to oversee the 2027 elections, the NCEF cautioned the judiciary against any perceived bias in handling election-related disputes, warning that the country “is now at a tipping point” and cannot afford judicial partiality.
It also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to safeguard its independence and ensure the conduct of credible, free, and fair elections.
The forum further demanded an independent investigation into the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), which it described as an indictment of the current administration.
Drawing a historical comparison, the group said, “The flagrant compromise of national institutions by the current administration is reminiscent of the dark days of General Babangida’s military administration, and this is unacceptable and must be brought to the quickest halt.”
The NCEF stressed that Nigerians are demanding substantive change, cautioning that the endurance of citizens amid prolonged economic hardship “must no longer be taken for granted.”
(The Whistler)
