Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a former adviser in President Bola Tinubu’s administration, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to seek re-election in 2027, arguing that Nigeria requires a leader who can act with greater urgency and focus in the face of worsening national challenges.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Baba-Ahmed said his opinion had remained unchanged since leaving government, insisting that the administration has not demonstrated the drive many Nigerians expected when Tinubu took office last year.
He noted that while Tinubu had long worked toward becoming president, his time in office so far had not reflected the political sharpness and determination he once displayed.
Baba-Ahmed said the qualities that defined Tinubu’s early political rise, particularly his reputation for strategic thinking and fierce ambition, had not translated into forceful governance. He argued that having fulfilled his personal aspiration to lead the country, the president should consider stepping aside after one term and support a younger and more energetic successor from within the All-Progressives Congress.
“Nigeria needs leadership that can push aggressively for solutions,” he said, adding that the country would benefit from a figure capable of sustaining the pace required to confront economic hardship, insecurity and widespread public dissatisfaction.
Baba-Ahmed suggested that Tinubu’s most meaningful contribution at this stage might be to guide the APC toward a candidate who can inject renewed vitality into national leadership rather than pursue a second term himself. He said the party would be better served by someone with “fresh capacity” to deal with Nigeria’s deepening problems.
