2027: Kaduna APC rally won’t erase poverty, insecurity – PRP

File: National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed

The Peoples Redemption Party on Thursday criticised the All Progressives Congress over its rally in Kaduna, saying the ruling party cannot use public funds and political gatherings to conceal what it described as failures in tackling poverty and insecurity.

The National Chairman of the party, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said Nigerians would not forget their economic hardship and security challenges because of the APC’s campaign activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a statement issued in Abuja, Baba-Ahmed described the Kaduna rally as an expensive attempt to manufacture public support for the ruling party, arguing that the event exposed the APC’s disconnect from the realities facing Nigerians.

The former presidential aide also questioned the alleged expenditure on the rally, accusing the APC leadership of showing contempt for Nigerians by assuming that a lavish political gathering could make them overlook worsening living conditions.

He said, “The contempt in the assumption that splashing trillions of our money to organise an event in Kaduna will make Nigerians forget unprecedented levels of poverty and insecurity under which we live has been noted.

“The nation watched with deep concern the clumsy and outrageously expensive failure of the APC to sell deep unpopularity to a hostile nation.”

Continuing, he warned that the ruling party might continue to expend public resources on political activities in an attempt to project popularity, despite the hardship and security concerns confronting citizens.

According to him, one of the lessons from the rally was that the ruling party could not use money to cover up its record in government.

“One is that APC cannot paper over its failed stewardship and record with money. Nigerians could see through the charade, which was clutching at straws to create fictions that offend our sensitivities,” he added.

The criticism comes as political parties begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 elections, with the performance of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration expected to feature prominently in campaigns.

Baba-Ahmed also raised concerns about Tinubu’s health, saying the President should submit himself to close medical scrutiny and management.

“Finally, the brief glimpses of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu at the Kaduna rally suggested a patriotic demand that he should submit himself to close medical scrutiny and management,” he said.

He added, “A nation desperately needing strong, healthy and focused leadership such as ours cannot continue to avoid advising Mr President to ensure that he has the best health available for a stressed and ageing leader.”

The statement did not provide medical evidence to support the chairman’s concerns about the President’s health.

Baba-Ahmed further faulted the security situation in the country, saying criminal attacks and abductions continued even as the APC held its rally in Kaduna.

He alleged that while policemen were deployed to protect billboards at the event, bandits were abducting residents from their homes in the Kaduna metropolis.

He said communities across the country continued to suffer from insecurity, with victims and their families forced to endure fear, ransom demands and loss of dignity.

The PRP chairman also condemned the killing of Sheikh Yahaya Masussuka at his home in Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State, demanding the immediate arrest and prosecution of those responsible.

“For what it is worth, the nation demands the arrest and prosecution of his killers immediately,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed argued that the government’s failure to guarantee the safety of citizens would remain a major issue in the run-up to the next general election, insisting that Nigerians had a right to demand protection regardless of their political preferences.

He said the APC should not mistake its campaign activities for evidence that Nigerians were satisfied with its performance.

The PRP chairman maintained that a credible election in 2027 would bring the ruling party’s leadership to an end, while urging the government to prioritise security and the welfare of citizens before then.

“In case the APC insists on living out its last few weeks in power in delusion, it should be reminded that a credible election in 2027 will bring an end to its failed leadership,” he said.

“Until then, Nigerians will continue to demand that they are protected and allowed to live a dignified existence.”