The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media, Mr. AbdulAziz AbdulAziz, has described former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai as “politically expired persons” who cannot pose a threat to President Tinubu’s chances in the 2027 elections.
Speaking at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Correspondents’ Chapel in Kano, AbdulAziz said the President remains unperturbed by recent political movements and coalitions spearheaded by the African Democratic Congress (ADC), stressing that those behind the move have no political weight to unsettle the government.
“President Tinubu is aware that the people championing these things using ADC are mostly politically expired. They are people with no political weight or relevance that would jitter the government or the President,” he said.
He argued that Atiku and others have contested repeatedly and lost, adding that their influence has waned significantly.
“We have had serial contesters who threw their hats into the ring on many occasions — and they lost. Nothing much has changed. In fact, their star is dimming. What they couldn’t achieve when their stars were shining, I don’t see them achieving now,” AbdulAziz stated.
He described the coalition leaders as “a group of bitter individuals driven by personal vendetta and loss,” noting that their agitation is not motivated by concern for ordinary Nigerians but by their exclusion from power.
“Nigerians have sufficiently understood this. That is why the coalition is not catching fire as they thought. A few months ago, they thought their movement would snowball and consume the government. It hasn’t happened. Nigerians see them for what they are — disgruntled elements only talking about themselves,” he added.
AbdulAziz emphasized that leadership is about service, not entitlement, and that the President is focused on nation-building rather than political expediency.
“President Tinubu has shown he is a leader, not just a politician. Unlike others who would continue digging the hole through policies like borrowing to fund subsidies or printing money for unproductive ventures, the President is taking tough decisions for the good of the country,” he said.
He highlighted ongoing investments in infrastructure and education, including the implementation of student loans and efforts to stabilize the academic calendar, as examples of the administration’s commitment to reform.
“Four-year courses will now be four-year courses. Schools will not be closed arbitrarily,” he noted.
AbdulAziz concluded that well-meaning Nigerians who understand the demands of governance are firmly behind President Tinubu, stressing that the coalition movements pose no real challenge ahead of 2027.
