Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, national chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), has claimed that former President Muhammadu Buhari was reluctant to hand over power to President Bola Tinubu in 2023 because he considered him “bad news” for Nigeria.
Baba-Ahmed made the remarks at a summit organised by the Northern Elders Forum, in a video published on Symfoni’s YouTube channel on Saturday.
He argued that Nigerians should have questioned Tinubu’s presidential ambition when he declared “Emilokan”, meaning “it is my turn”, during the build-up to the 2023 general election.
“Nigerians ought to have known there was something wrong the day Tinubu said, ‘It’s my turn’. Maybe we missed it,” he said.
“We have a presidency of a country of 250 million people. My turn? To do what? To become president.”
Baba-Ahmed further alleged that Buhari resisted pressure from some individuals who wanted Tinubu to succeed him, claiming the former president had concerns about what a Tinubu presidency would mean for the country.
“Even Buhari saw Tinubu as bad news for this country. In fairness to him, he is not around him. Buhari resisted some people who insisted it had to be Tinubu,” he said.
The PRP chairman also criticised Tinubu’s administration, alleging that the country had experienced a significant decline under his leadership.
“Now we are being depressed for having a president for three and a half years. He has dragged the country as low as it is possible to go. And it has to stop him. We cannot go below, beyond where we are,” Baba-Ahmed said.
Despite his criticism, he expressed confidence that Nigerians would overcome the country’s challenges, pointing to the nation’s ability to survive previous crises.
“We are very resilient people. We have seen crises bigger than this, and we survived it. We survived it, and we will survive this one,” he said.
“We will survive the four years of abuse, neglect, and plunder that Tinubu has caused because Nigeria has to survive for our children and their children.”
Baba-Ahmed Accuses Tinubu’s Government of Failure
Baba-Ahmed accused Tinubu of placing his political ambition above the welfare of Nigerians, alleging that the administration had performed poorly across key indicators.
“We will not allow a president to fulfil an ambition that one individual alone can wreck his country, just to prove that he has the power and the money to do so,” he said.
“We are at the bottom. There is no way to go anymore. Every index of failure shows in this administration.”
He also criticised Tinubu for not personally appealing to Nigerians for another term, claiming the president had relied on political allies to campaign on his behalf.
In addition, Baba-Ahmed faulted northern governors for allegedly failing to draw the president’s attention to economic hardship and public dissatisfaction in the region.
Opposition Parties Prepare for 2027 Election
The PRP chairman disclosed that opposition parties were working towards forming a coalition to challenge Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
He described the initiative as a serious effort, saying the parties were willing to pool resources and put aside their differences to establish a united front.
“What we have seen is an incredible willingness for politicians to come together and say, let’s put aside some of our differences and see if we can actually create a momentum strong enough to remove this Tinubu,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed said the coalition would produce a presidential candidate and urged Nigerians who opposed Tinubu’s re-election to support whoever emerged as its flag-bearer.
“There will be a candidate that will be produced by this coalition. Vote for whoever he is,” he said.
He also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that the 2027 general election reflected the wishes of voters.
“INEC must guarantee that the 2027 elections will reflect the will of the people,” he said.
“If it does, and it must, because the consequences are almost clear, Tinubu is done.”
