A former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Tinubu, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has said the President should not seek re-election in 2027, insisting that Tinubu has failed to show the same drive he displayed in his quest for power.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics on November 30, 2025, Baba-Ahmed, who resigned from the administration shortly after its inauguration, said the President has not governed with the expected energy.
“I’m sorry, but I have to say this again. When I left his administration, one of the things I told many people was, ‘I wish President Tinubu would not run again in 2027,’” he said.
“He said it was his turn, Emilokan, and he has had his turn. But I don’t think he has run the country well. The Tinubu we knew, with all the hunger and brilliant scheming to become president, has not shown that same hunger to fix Nigeria.”
Baba-Ahmed urged Tinubu to assume the role of an elder statesman by identifying and supporting a younger and more energetic successor within the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 election.
“He should find someone within his party, a younger person, a healthier person, a more focused person and make him his candidate. He can do it,” he added.
His comments come six months after APC governors, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, endorsed Tinubu for a second term at a national summit in May 2025, pledging to deliver their states for him in 2027.
Tinubu has so far remained silent on whether he will seek re-election.
Baba-Ahmed, who is a brother of the Labour Party’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, resigned from the Tinubu administration shortly after its inauguration in June 2023, citing personal reasons.