With 33 Governors, Tinubu Still Afraid Of Contest, Says ADC’s Eze

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has said President Bola Tinubu appears apprehensive about the 2027 presidential election despite the All Progressives Congress (APC) controlling 33 state governors.

In a statement issued on Friday, Eze said it was contradictory that a ruling party with such political spread would, in his words, still be uneasy about facing the opposition.

“Even with 33 serving Governors in the ruling APC, President Tinubu is very much afraid of competitive poll in 2027,” he said, adding that the President “is afraid of his own shadow.”

Eze questioned why the administration would be concerned about contesting against “a viable opposition political party like ADC.”

He was reacting to the removal of the names of Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as National Chairman and National Secretary of the ADC from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal.

“It beats one’s imagination that a person who prides himself as a political strategist and democrat will stoop so low to aim at decimating opposition political parties ahead of the 2027 presidential election,” he said.

The ADC chieftain further alleged that recent developments point to growing anxiety within the ruling party. “Without mincing words, Tinubu is paranoid over the 2027 presidential election, and that’s the root cause of all these undemocratic, unconstitutional and illegal acts,” he stated.

Describing the situation as “politics taken too far,” Eze criticised what he called attempts to use institutions to interfere in party affairs.

He cited a Supreme Court judgment delivered on March 21, 2025, in Senator Samuel Anyanwu v. Sunday Udey-Okoye & PDP, which held that internal party matters are not justiciable, arguing that INEC should not interfere in the internal affairs of political parties.

“INEC must respect party autonomy,” he said, urging the ADC to proceed with its activities. “Let’s ignore INEC, and adhere to our timetable of congresses.”

Eze maintained that efforts to destabilise the party would not succeed and called on party members to remain resolute ahead of the 2027 elections.