2027: Tinubu afraid of campaign stress, will use governors to ‘cash out’ votes – Sam Amadi

Former Executive Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Dr Sam Amadi, has accused President Bola Tinubu of avoiding the stress of campaigning ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Amadi alleged that Tinubu would rely on governors to secure votes for him, warning that such an arrangement could undermine Nigeria’s democracy if opposition parties were not allowed to campaign freely.

The former NERC chairman made the remarks in a post on his X handle on Wednesday while reacting to Tinubu’s declaration that he might not visit every state during the 2027 presidential campaign.

Tinubu had said, “You will excuse me from going everywhere with you. However, I will still make room to talk to Nigerians directly. The responsibility of this office does not pause, and we have bills to pay.”

Reacting, Amadi described the President as sincere, suggesting that his decision not to campaign extensively was driven by his inability to withstand the stress associated with such an exercise.

“Tinubu is very honest here. He will not campaign because he cannot face the stress of a campaign. He will allow the governors to cash out the votes through all means,” he wrote.

Amadi, however, urged governors expected to work for Tinubu’s re-election to conduct their activities peacefully and allow opposition parties to campaign without hindrance.

“I just ask the governors to go about this proxy work peacefully, allow the opposition to campaign freely, and let the people decide for themselves whether to return Tinubu to power despite his inability to campaign,” he added.

He warned that Nigeria’s democratic institutions had already suffered significant damage, cautioning against further deterioration amid concerns about possible military intervention.

“Nigerian democracy is already damaged. But we should not damage it further for fear of the military. We are vulnerable. Consider what is going on around us in West Africa.

“We need democracy to survive,” Amadi stated.