•Christian Association of Nigeria President Daniel Okoh and Tinubu
The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to seek re-election in 2027, citing what they described as his administration’s “poor performance” in security and the economy.
This is as the Arewa Think Tank has criticised NCEF for asking President Tinubu to abandon his re-election plans, insisting that no religious organisation has the authority to determine who Nigerians should elect, reports Daily Trust.
In a communiqué at the weekend, signed by its Chairman, Dr. Samuel Danjuma Gani, NCEF said the country was being led in a direction that had generated “increasing apprehension rather than hope.”
According to the forum, President Tinubu should, instead of seeking a second term, devote the remainder of his tenure to restructuring Nigeria and facilitating the emergence of a new constitution.
The elders argued that the present administration had fallen short of the constitutional responsibility of ensuring the security of Nigerians, as enshrined in the Constitution.
They also criticised the President’s Muslim-Muslim ticket, describing it as “grossly insensitive,” particularly at a time when terrorists were carrying out attacks in parts of the country and many Christians were victims of violence.
“The direction in which the nation is being led by the Tinubu presidency offers increasing apprehension rather than hope and this state of affairs has left all patriots with no option but to call on President Tinubu to please desist from seeking re-election for a second term, but instead like a statesman with an eye on history and posterity, to earnestly commit the rest of his tenure to restructuring Nigeria and giving her a new constitution.
They called on ethnic nationalities, socio-cultural organisations and other interest groups to immediately begin mobilising for the adoption of a new constitution before the 2027 general election.
The Christian elders warned that the patience of citizens should not be taken for granted, maintaining that Nigerians were yearning for a change.
No religious group can stop President – Arewa Think Tank
Meanwhile, reaction to the elders in a statement yesterday, the Convener of the Arewa Think Tank, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, criticised NCEF for asking President Tinubu to abandon his re-election, insisting that no religious organisation has the authority to determine who Nigerians should elect.
Yakubu described the NCEF’s position as an attempt to politicise religion and intimidate the president, maintaining that only the electorate has the constitutional right to decide who occupies the nation’s highest office.
“No religious group can pressure, determine or dictate what Nigerians want. No pressure group can intimidate Mr. President out of contesting the 2027 presidential election. If it is God’s will and Nigerians decide to re-elect President Tinubu, no amount of religious or political pressure can stop that,” he said.
He added that, “If these clerics are campaigning for a particular candidate, they should come out openly and say so, they shouldn’t hide under the state of the nation to campaign for anybody because they will lose their respect and integrity”.
The Arewa Think Tank Convener urged religious leaders to avoid actions capable of inflaming political and religious tensions, stressing that the pulpit should not be converted into a political platform.
“Our respected clerics should not de-robe themselves of the honour and respect they command by playing to the gallery and unnecessarily heating up the political atmosphere. If anyone wishes to actively participate in partisan politics, they should take off the clerical robe and join politics openly. Constructive advice is more effective when offered privately rather than through public political campaigns,” Yakubu said.
He argued that assessing the Tinubu administration requires an appreciation of the enormous structural challenges inherited, adding that,”fifty years of accumulated neglect cannot be reversed within three years. Nigerians must appreciate the realities confronting the government.
“Our population has grown far faster than our infrastructure, social services and available resources. Development cannot keep pace overnight with such rapid population growth,” he added.
Yakubu said despite these constraints, the Tinubu administration has embarked on critical economic reforms and laid the foundation for long-term national recovery.
He cited the ongoing implementation of economic reforms, renewed infrastructure investments, increased attention to agriculture, improvements in revenue generation, reforms in the oil sector, efforts to stabilise public finances, expansion of social intervention programmes and renewed investments aimed at stimulating economic growth as evidence that the administration is addressing long-standing structural challenges.
Yakubu insisted that democratic choices must remain in the hands of Nigerians rather than religious organisations.
“The decision on who becomes president in 2027 belongs to Nigerians through the ballot box, not to any religious body. Democracy thrives on the free choice of the people, and no group should arrogate to itself the power to determine the political future of the country,” he said.
