The African Democratic Congress has strongly criticized the All Progressives Congress for its national chairman’s declaration that there would be “no vacancy in Aso Rock” in 2027, describing the statement as undemocratic and disrespectful to Nigerian voters.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party asserted that the presidency is not an inherited position but one that must be earned through performance and public trust. The ADC accused the APC of displaying an “arrogant mindset” that disregards citizens’ constitutional right to choose their leaders.
“The APC Chairman’s recent declaration of ‘no vacancy in Aso Rock’ is presumptuous and disrespectful of Nigerian people, who are tired of hunger, insecurity, joblessness, and unfulfilled promises, and therefore cannot wait to reclaim their future at the ballot box,” Abdullahi stated.
“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,” he added.
The ADC warned that such remarks undermine democratic principles by suggesting electoral outcomes are predetermined, potentially eroding public confidence in the electoral process. The party emphasized that periodic elections require every leader, including President Bola Tinubu, to seek renewed mandate from voters.
“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,” Abdullahi declared.
The opposition party outlined key performance indicators by which it said Nigerians would judge the Tinubu administration in 2027, including youth employment, security, poverty reduction, power supply, and equitable justice. It accused the government of failing on these fronts, citing spiraling food inflation, worsening insecurity, and the naira’s continued depreciation as evidence of poor governance.
“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. No amount of propaganda can change their report cards in the eyes of Nigerians,” the statement read.
“While the APC government and its media operatives continue to clap for themselves and award themselves medals of excellence, the price of food has continued to rise beyond the reach of the majority of Nigerians, an ever-increasing number of our communities are being taken over by bandits, and our Naira remains battered and broken.”
The ADC concluded with a stern rebuke: “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. 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.”
