By Ikechukwu Samuel
President Bola Tinubu’s administration have created an opportunity for the opposition to maximise as they challenge the All Progressives Congress in the 2027 election and defeat it.
Convener of the League of Northern Democrats, Dr Umar Ardo, who said this, pointed out that the economic hardship and insecurity Nigerians are living in under this administration serves as a very potent political harm inflicted on the people by the APC and an advantage for the opposition ahead 2027.
Ardo said “most Nigerians don’t want the regime to continue,” arguing that citizens had “legitimate reasons” for seeking an alternative government.
He identified the economy as one of the biggest sources of public dissatisfaction.
“Economically, the country is in deep problem,” Ardo said, arguing that government policies had “thrown the people into poverty” and “completely dismantled what they call the middle class.”
He said the situation was particularly severe in Northern Nigeria.
“In Northern Nigeria, the regime has pushed the people beyond poverty to the state of destitution,” Ardo said.
He acknowledged that poverty did not begin with the Tinubu administration, noting that the president had argued that poverty existed in Nigeria even before he was born.
“But it is his responsibility to reduce it in a measurable manner,” Ardo countered. “If he fails to do so, then he has failed.”
The political strategist also identified insecurity as another major weakness the opposition could exploit.
“Then the insecurity, security is rampant everywhere. If you don’t reduce it, if you don’t stop it, you have failed,” he said.
Electricity, he added, was another area where the administration should be judged against its promises.
Ardo also accused the government of allowing corruption to become institutionalised, alleging that the legislature and judiciary had been compromised.
“The principle of separation of powers have completely disappeared,” he claimed, adding that he had seen no previous Nigerian administration under which the principle had been “so weakened.”
He said these issues could provide the opposition with sufficient material to mount a powerful challenge.
“All these things, if you put them together, they are enough reasons for the opposition to win the election,” Ardo said.
However, he stressed that the opposition must present a convincing alternative rather than merely rely on dissatisfaction with the government.
For Ardo, the 2027 contest will therefore be an opportunity for opposition forces to turn widespread economic and social grievances into a coherent political campaign capable of persuading Nigerians to reject the APC.“In Northern Nigeria, the regime has pushed the people beyond poverty to the state of destitution,” Ardo said.
