From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Deputy National Leader (Southeast) of the Renewed Hope for Greater Nigeria (RHGN), Franklin Ngoforo, has called on Nigerians to reject what he described as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s “politics of external interference” and rally behind President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Ngoforo made the call in Jos, Plateau State, at the weekend, shortly after RHGN flagged off campaign activities for the president’s re-election.
He accused the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate of seeking support from foreign powers to prosecute his political battle against Tinubu.
Ngoforo said Atiku’s reported efforts to involve American institutions, including schools, lobbying groups, and the United States judiciary, in matters relating to President Tinubu, amounted to an attempt to introduce foreign institutions into Nigeria’s domestic electoral contest.
“Nigeria is a sovereign nation with its own Constitution, electoral laws, courts, and institutions capable of determining questions concerning the qualification and eligibility of candidates,” Ngoforo said.
He argued that issues concerning certificates submitted to Nigerian authorities and the eligibility of candidates should be determined within Nigeria’s legal and constitutional framework.
The RHGN chieftain also questioned the relevance of allegations concerning purported events in another jurisdiction several decades ago to the 2027 election.
“If there is a question about a Nigerian election, take it to the Nigerian courts and allow Nigerian law to determine it,” he said. “You cannot turn an allegation from decades ago in another country into a substitute for Nigeria’s Constitution and electoral laws.”
He maintained that allegations concerning drugs or financial matters allegedly investigated in the United States decades ago do not automatically become Nigerian electoral offences or grounds for disqualification.
Ngoforo said sovereign states take foreign interference in elections seriously, citing Romania as an example. He referenced the annulment of Romania’s 2024 presidential election amid allegations of Russian interference benefiting Călin Georgescu, and the subsequent barring of Georgescu from the rerun and his criminal investigation.
“The Romanian experience demonstrates the importance of protecting the sovereignty of national elections from foreign influence,” Ngoforo said. “The Nigerian presidency cannot be outsourced to Washington.”
He further argued that a presidential candidate seeking to govern Nigeria should focus on convincing Nigerian voters and presenting a credible programme, rather than seeking ammunition from foreign institutions.
“If Atiku believes Nigerians do not want Tinubu, he should go to Nigerians and persuade them. If he believes Tinubu is legally unqualified, he should make his case under Nigerian law,” Ngoforo said.
He described Atiku’s approach as “lazy politics” and urged Nigerians to reject any strategy that could expose the country’s electoral process to undue external influence.
Ngoforo called on voters to support Tinubu on the basis of what he described as the administration’s record and continuing development agenda. He also directed RHGN members to intensify grassroots mobilisation nationwide.
“The Nigerian President will not be elected in an American school, lobbying office or courtroom,” he declared. “He will be elected by Nigerians, on Nigerian soil, through the Nigerian ballot.”
(The Sun)