Anti-Tunji-Ojo Protests Aimed At Tinubu’s 2027 Bid — APC Chieftain

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Darlington Nwauju, has alleged that the recent protests against the Minister of Interior, Dr Tunji-Ojo, are aimed at sabotaging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

In a statement, Nwauju described the two protests organised in February as politically motivated and targeted at weakening the administration by going after what he called a high-performing member of the cabinet.

He questioned the timing of the protests, noting that two separate cases are currently before two justices of the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking judicial probe into the minister’s WAEC and NYSC records.

According to him, the decision to embark on street protests while the cases are pending suggests a lack of confidence in the judicial process initiated by the same parties.

“If they have sufficient evidence which they have opportunity to provide before the courts, why resort to street protests? Why trying to play on the emotions and intelligence of Nigerians?” he stated.

Nwauju further alleged that the protests were intended to influence public opinion and pressure the judiciary.

“Resorting to street protests is an attempt to blur the sense of judgement of the unsuspecting public, bully the judges and continue the political blackmail,” he said.

The APC chieftain argued that since Dr Tunji-Ojo assumed office on August 21, 2023, there has been transformation at the Ministry of Interior and its paramilitary agencies, including Immigration, Correctional Services, Civil Defence and the Fire Service.

He stated that the ministry had exceeded the Federal Government’s revenue projections in the past two fiscal years and that oversight committees of the National Assembly had commended its achievements.

Nwauju listed improvements in passport application and renewal processes, attention to the Correctional Services, remodelling and modernisation of fire service stations, expanded responsibilities for Civil Defence in internal security, and the promotion of 75,202 staff of the paramilitary agencies in the past two years as evidence of progress.

“No patriotic Nigerian would clamour for the removal of such a high performing official of government, if not with an ulterior motive of reversing the huge gains government has achieved in less than three years through that Ministry and derailing the renewed hope agenda of Mr President, thereby making his reelection difficult come 2027,” he said.

The protests were organised by groups demanding judicial probe into the minister’s academic and service records. The related cases are pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

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