Buhari saw Tinubu as ‘Bad News’ for Nigeria — Baba-Ahmed

— PRP chairman says ex-president resisted pressure to back Tinubu in 2023

Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, national chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), has claimed that former President Muhammadu Buhari was reluctant to transfer power to President Bola Tinubu in 2023 because he considered him “bad news” for Nigeria.

Baba-Ahmed spoke at a summit organised by the Northern Elders Forum, in a video published on Symfoni’s YouTube channel on Saturday.

He said Nigerians should have questioned Tinubu’s presidential ambition when he declared “Emilokan”, meaning “it is my turn”, during the build-up to the 2023 general election.

“Nigerians ought to have known there was something wrong the day Tinubu said, ‘It’s my turn’. Maybe we missed it,” he said.

“We have a presidency of a country of 250 million people. My turn? To do what? To become president.”

Baba-Ahmed said Buhari was reluctant to hand over power to Tinubu after considering the implications of his presidency for the country.

“Even Buhari saw Tinubu as bad news for this country. In fairness to him, he is not around him. Buhari resisted some people who insisted it had to be Tinubu,” he said.

The PRP chairman criticised Tinubu’s administration, alleging that the country had deteriorated under his leadership.

“Now we are being depressed for having a president for three and a half years. He has dragged the country as low as it is possible to go. And it has to stop him. We cannot go below, beyond where we are,” Baba-Ahmed said.

He, however, expressed confidence in Nigerians’ ability to overcome the country’s challenges, saying the nation had survived major crises in the past.

“We are very resilient people. We have seen crises bigger than this, and we survived it. We survived it, and we will survive this one,” he said.

“We will survive the four years of abuse, neglect, and plunder that Tinubu has caused because Nigeria has to survive for our children and their children.”

‘Every index of failure shows in this administration’

Baba-Ahmed accused Tinubu of prioritising his political ambition over the welfare of Nigerians, alleging that the administration had failed across key indicators.

“We will not allow a president to fulfil an ambition that one individual alone can wreck his country, just to prove that he has the power and the money to do so,” he said.

“We are at the bottom. There is no way to go anymore. Every index of failure shows in this administration.”

He also faulted Tinubu for not personally appealing to Nigerians for another term, saying the president had instead relied on political allies to campaign on his behalf.

Baba-Ahmed further accused northern governors of failing to draw the president’s attention to economic hardship and public dissatisfaction in the region.

Opposition coalition targets 2027 election

The PRP chairman said opposition parties were working towards forming a coalition to challenge Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

He described the effort as serious, saying the parties were prepared to pool resources and set aside their differences to build a common front.

“What we have seen is an incredible willingness for politicians to come together and say, let’s put aside some of our differences and see if we can actually create a momentum strong enough to remove this Tinubu,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed said the coalition would produce a candidate to challenge the president and urged Nigerians opposed to Tinubu’s re-election bid to support whoever emerged as its flag-bearer.

“There will be a candidate that will be produced by this coalition. Vote for whoever he is,” he said.

He also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that the 2027 general election reflected the will of voters.

“INEC must guarantee that the 2027 elections will reflect the will of the people,” he said.

“If it does, and it must, because the consequences are almost clear, Tinubu is done.”