• Calls for his resignation as anti-Tinubu protest breaks out in Abuja
Chuks Okocha in Abuja
National Leader of People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, says President Bola Tinubu has lost control of Nigeria’s worsening security situation, warning that the leadership failure would ultimately lead to public rejection if urgent action is not taken.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS yesterday, Baba-Ahmed said Nigeria was facing a rapidly deteriorating security situation, with violent attacks and kidnappings spreading across all regions of the country.
He stated, “President Tinubu has no handle on the escalating violence, every part of Nigeria is now vulnerable to insecurity.
“In a civilised democracy, President Tinubu’s record on insecurity would have cost him his seat a long time ago.”
Baba-Ahmed accused the government of failing to confront the reality of escalating violence, as insecurity became widespread and unchecked across the country.
He stated, “Every time children from generals to toddlers are stolen, every inch of Nigeria is now vulnerable to insecurity. Children, toddlers in school have been stolen.”
He said the administration and its inner circle appeared to be normalising the crisis.
Baba-Ahmed said everything that needed to said by the media, civil society, and the public, generally, had been said, “except, of course, the National Assembly, Tinubu himself, and his tiny circle of supporters appear to believe that this is a problem that we can live with.”
He stated that the government had failed in its most basic responsibility of protecting citizens, adding, “Now, President Tinubu has spectacularly failed to protect anybody. Again, like I said, every part of Nigeria is now vulnerable.”
He warned that insecurity would continue to worsen if urgent intervention was not made.
“We are in trouble. We haven’t been safe under him and we are likely to be even more exposed to criminality between now and the elections,” he stated.
The PRP leader said the party’s position, calling for the president’s resignation, was not driven by politics but what he described as a national emergency in governance and security.
Baba-Ahmed declared, “We said everything else. And we say this with all sense of responsibility. President Tinubu should resign.”
He added that public frustration would eventually translate into political consequences for the president.
“If we project what he’s doing, how he’s performing between now and the elections, we don’t even need to wait. Nigerians will reject him,” Baba-Ahmed said.
He insisted that Nigeria had reached a point where leadership failure could no longer be ignored or excused, stating that insecurity has become a defining national crisis.
Baba-Ahmed stated, “What else is there? What else is there to say to President Tinubu and to Nigerians? I listened to your programme. You dwelt extensively on the escalation of these kidnappings and violent crimes all over the country.”
He defended PRP’s internal selection process for its presidential candidate, and insisted that former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke was properly screened and fairly chosen as the party’s candidate through established procedures.
Baba-Ahmed said Duke went through all required stages of the party’s nomination process, including screening and consensus-building discussions among aspirants.
He stated, “Donald Duke applied to join the party, like everybody else, he complied with all the processes, including the screening of candidates.”
Baba-Ahmed explained that Duke participated in a structured selection process involving the three southern aspirants.
He disclosed that in trying to build the consensus, a meeting of the aspirants from the southern part of the country was held.
Anti Tinubu’s Protest Breaks Out in Abuja
A group of angry Nigerians took to the streets in Abuja, yesterday, with the protesters marching to the Federal High Court to demand the immediate resignation of President Bola Tinubu.
The protesters were seen chanting and shouting in front of the court. A man, holding a small calabash and gesturing wildly, appeared to be the main leader of the demonstration.
He moved energetically, pointing and shouting as others around him joined in with megaphones and raised fists.
The protest came on the back of growing frustration over the rising cases of kidnapping, banditry, and general insecurity plaguing different parts of the country.
The leader of the group could be heard venting their anger at the current state of the nation.
The protesters gathered in front of the Federal High Court, Abuja, calling for the resignation of Tinubu over the insecurity that Nigerians faced.