Former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Tinubu, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has openly said he hopes the president will not contest the 2027 election, insisting Tinubu has failed to show the same energy and drive that brought him to power.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics on November 30, 2025, Baba-Ahmed, who resigned from the administration early, did not mince words.
“I’m sorry, but I have to say this again. When I left his administration, one of the things I told many people was, ‘I wish President Tinubu would not run again in 2027,’” he said.
“He said it was his turn, ‘Emilokan’, and he has had his turn. But I don’t think he has run the country well. The Tinubu we knew, with all the hunger and brilliant scheming to become president, has not shown that same hunger to fix Nigeria.”
Baba-Ahmed urged the president to now play elder statesman by hand-picking a younger, healthier, and more energetic successor from within the All Progressives Congress and back the person to take over in 2027.
“He should find someone within his party, a younger person, a healthier person, a more focused person and make him his candidate. He can do it,” he added.
The remarks come six months after APC governors, led by Imo State’s Hope Uzodimma, publicly endorsed Tinubu for a second term at a national summit in May 2025, promising to deliver their states for him in 2027.
Tinubu himself has remained silent on whether he will seek re-election.
Baba-Ahmed, brother to Labour Party vice-presidential candidate Datti Baba-Ahmed, had resigned from the Tinubu government shortly after inauguration, citing personal reasons.
