The Social Democratic Party (SDP) lawmaker representing Nasarawa West, Senator Aliyu Wadada has declared that the 2027 presidential race was “already taken” by President Bola Tinubu.
Wadada stated this while speaking to State House correspondents on Tuesday after meeting with the President at the Presidential Villa in Abuja .
He said his visit to the President was to pay his “usual respect” and appreciate Tinubu for the public felicitation extended to him over his recent turbaning as the Maga Jindengi of Lafia on August 2, 2025.
The lawmaker responded to questions about his frequent visits to the Villa despite being an SDP member, explaining that the Presidency is “the home of Nigerians”, recalling his political journey across major parties.
He noted that he had been a national officer of the PDP, serving as National Financial Secretary before joining the APC even before its formation, and later moving to the SDP under “circumstantial” conditions.
“My departure from APC to SDP wasn’t because APC had done anything wrong to me. It was just circumstantial, and I wouldn’t want to bore anybody with the circumstances. I went out there, saw, and did it. Today I am in the Senate on the SDP platform,” he said.
Wadada, however, hinted strongly at an imminent return to his former party, saying, “SDP as a political party hasn’t offended me. I am still proud of SDP, but the happenings now may not warrant my continuous stay. I could even say that I am APC, though I have not officially moved.”
On the chances of opposition parties such as the African Democratic Party (ADC) in 2027, the Senator dismissed their prospects, insisting that none of their members could match Tinubu’s ongoing performance.
“Look at each and every one of them—who stands to do anything better than what Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is doing? I haven’t seen any,” he said.
He challenged opposition aspirants to present concrete plans rather than “baseless criticisms,” asking them to state what they would do differently on subsidy removal, foreign exchange reforms, infrastructure, and economic development.
“We’re talking Nigeria, not sectional politics. President Tinubu is the President of Nigeria, not Lagos or the South-West,” he added.
Citing the passage of the Tax Reform Bill as an example, Wadada noted that the law now exempts anyone earning less than ₦800,000 per annum from personal income tax and ensures that “no state in Nigeria today takes less than three times what it used to take” after subsidy removal.
He urged the public to hold state governments accountable for the increased revenue.
He also hailed Tinubu’s infrastructural initiatives, including the Sokoto–Badagry road project, the Abuja–Kano highway, and the ongoing transformation of the Federal Capital Territory under Minister Nyesom Wike, which he attributed to the president’s leadership.
On if his comments amounted to endorsing Tinubu for 2027, Wadada replied, “If you are fit to be endorsed, bring yourself to the front. Whoever truly cares for Nigeria knows that people resist change, but Asiwaju has come with unprecedented changes.”
“The 2027 space is already taken, occupied by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the Senator declared.
