ADC: APC Must Reapply to Nigerians in 2027, No Vacancy Comment Arrogant

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

African Democratic Congress (ADC) described comments by the new national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, that there would be “no vacancy in Aso Rock” in 2027 as arrogant and undemocratic.

In a statement, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the remark was presumptuous and undemocratic.

 Abdullahi said the presidency of Nigeria was not a hereditary office, but a mandate that must be earned and renewed through performance and public trust.

According to the opposition party, APC’s “no vacancy” statement betrays an arrogant mind-set that appeared to overlook the right of the Nigerian people to choose.

ADC warned APC to guard against utterances that could further suggest that people’s votes would not count.

Abdullahi said the APC chairman’s recent declaration of “no vacancy in Aso Rock” was presumptuous and disrespectful of the Nigerian people, who were tired of hunger, insecurity, joblessness, and unfulfilled promises, and could not wait to reclaim their future at the ballot box.

He stated, “We understand why APC is afraid, and would wish that they could somehow avoid that day of reckoning with the ballot box. The very fact of periodic elections means that every incumbent must renew its mandate.

‘’Therefore, regardless of what APC thinks, there will be vacancy at the Presidential Villa in 2027. President Tinubu must re-apply to the Nigerian people, and he must show Nigerians why they should allow him to continue on the job, despite his ruinous policies that have made life miserable for the majority.”

The coalition party further stated, “In 2027, APC and President Tinubu will be evaluated based on Key Performance Indicators (KPI) of youth employment, security of lives, hunger and poverty, electricity supply, and justice to all. And no amount of propaganda can change their report cards in the eyes of Nigerians.

“While the APC government and its media operatives continue to clap for themselves, and awarding themselves medals of excellence, the price of food has continued to rise beyond the reach of majority of Nigerians, ever increasing number of our communities are being taken over by bandits, and our Naira remains battered and broken.

“This is why, to declare ‘no vacancy’ two years before an election, is to spit in the face of every Nigerian who still believes in their democratic power.

“It is to say: your vote does not matter. It is to mock the pain of the mothers and fathers who cannot afford food, the graduate who cannot find a job, and the entrepreneurs whose businesses have collapsed due to no fault of theirs.

“Let it be known, the APC will have to reapply for the job of leading this country in 2027, and they do not get to mark their own papers.”