Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Wednesday, warned Nigerians not to be tricked by President Bola Tinubu to “grab power and run with it” in 2027.
Frank gave the warning in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday where he specifically urged Northern and Southern leaders including opposition parties to resist Tinubu’s desperate 2027 presidential bid.
He alleged that Tinubu was blackmailing Southerners, especially opposition governors on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
This he said the president was doing by playing the ethnic card to gain support while accusing the president of also threatening to deal with them if they fail to support him by declaring a state of emergency in their States over spurious charges of violence and corruption.
“He has increased the intensity now by blackmailing, intimidating and putting at least five PDP Governors from the South under duress to defect along with their members in the National Assembly to the APC.
“To Tinubu, the 2027 election is about him versus the North and that is why he is trying desperately to enlist the support of the South through manipulation and subterfuge.
“He has forgotten so soon that the North helped him to get to power in 2023,” Frank said.
According to the Bayelsa-born politician, 2027 should not be about North or South, but who would fix the myriads of challenges confronting the country.
He noted those challenges to include the incessant killings, kidnappings and banditry, as well as the harsh economic conditions foisted on the masses through fuel subsidy removal, increased electricity tariff and high cost of food and other essential services.
Frank said, “Nigerians are in need of a President who will help Nigeria become better, not ‘Northern candidate or Southern candidate’ or ‘Northern President or Southern President’.
“The country is overcharged already with divisions along ethnic lines. We therefore can’t afford to have a President who is setting one region against another for the sake of his own personal ambition.
“For me, Timi Frank, as a Southerner, I don’t believe in a tribalistic and divisive President. I believe in a leader that will come and unite rather than divide Nigeria.
“I advise every Northerner still supporting Tinubu to have a rethink. They should know that the North that apparently ‘assisted’ Tinubu to gain power in 2023 is suffering the most today.
“It is a fact that the North has been grossly sidelined in appointments and other infrastructure development programmes by Tinubu who has prioritised his personal and tribal life-interests over everything else.
“This is why the North should wake up. They should know this route Tinubu is going in terms of 2027 politics, is not the best for Nigeria. They should rise and speak with one voice in 2027,” he said.
Frank admonished Northern leaders to know that should Tinubu find his way back to power in 2027, the region will suffer untold neglect, adding that the president and the APC do not have their genuine interest at heart.
“As we speak, at least five opposition Governors are set to defect to APC, not because they like Tinubu, but due to intense political pressure, intimidation and blackmail, while those who will remain have been made to sign undertakings to deliver their States to Tinubu, otherwise they will be made to lose their second term elections.
“Tinubu does not believe in the power of the people. Tinubu is working to steal the election results, to grab it (power) and run away with it like he did in 2023.
“If the North can’t see the omen of imminent regional stagnation and destruction, they will regret it if they do nothing to stop Tinubu in 2027.
“Tinubu does not believe in democracy and that is why he has succeeded in ensuring that PDP, Labour Party and any other opposition parties are enmeshed in intractable internal crisis in order to deny capable and qualified aspirants platforms to challenge him in 2027.
“His singular aim is to retain power in 2027 by hook or crook. He is doing all he can at the detriment of Nigerians, a complete negation of the oath of office he swore to on assumption of office as President,” he said.
Frank further lamented that “at the moment, Nigeria is on auto-pilot under Tinubu’s watch, yet he (Tinubu) wants to force himself on Nigerians again in 2027.”
Addressing Nigerians, Frank urged them to prepare to reject Tinubu as the only patriotic thing to do as citizens. “As citizens, we have a duty to reject a bad, clueless and rudderless leader and do all that is legally necessary to prevent him from returning to power.”
He urged the opposition leaders in the country to ensure that their coalition succeeds in defeating Tinubu in 2027.
“The coalition is in the best interest of Nigeria and Nigerians. I therefore appeal to the leaders of the coalition to put Nigeria and Nigerians first as their decision would help reshape the country and its future going forward,” he said.
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