Momodu Accuses Tinubu of Flooding INEC with Yoruba Appointees

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dele Momodu, has said that nobody trusts President Bola Tinubu to conduct a free and fair election in 2027, including the President’s own supporters.

Momodu made the remark on Wednesday night during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme.

The ADC is one of the opposition parties preparing to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.

Momodu is a veteran journalist and publisher. He is also a former presidential aspirant and a long-time critic of the Tinubu administration.

Momodu Says Tinubu Will Not Step Down If He Loses

Momodu claimed that many Nigerians believe Tinubu will refuse to hand over power if he loses the 2027 election.

He said those who hold that view would chase the President out of the Presidential Villa.

“If you ask an average Nigerian today about Tinubu, ‘Do you trust Tinubu to conduct a free and fair election?’ I can tell you, 90 per cent of them will say no,” he said.

“Look, nobody trusts Tinubu to run a free and fair election, including his own supporters.”

He said the President’s backers simply insist they will win, without offering any credible reason.

“In fact, some people are even suggesting that if Tinubu loses the election, he will not agree to step down. I say, why won’t he agree? We will chase him away.”

Momodu said the determination of ordinary Nigerians would decide the outcome of the election.

“I’m talking about the ordinary man on the street who cannot imagine Tinubu coming back again. They just can’t,” he said.

He declined to disclose the opposition’s strategy in public, but said the parties know what to do to deny Tinubu a second term.

He also said governors, judges and legislators on the APC platform are afraid of the coming election.

“Governors are scared. Judges are scared. Legislators are scared,” he said.

Momodu Accuses Tinubu of Flooding INEC with Yoruba Appointees

Momodu also accused the President of filling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with people of Yoruba extraction.

INEC is the body responsible for conducting federal and state elections in Nigeria.

He alleged the move is part of a plot to weaken the credibility of the 2027 polls.

“Tinubu has flooded INEC with people from Yorubaland,” he said.

He said his mother hails from Osun State, and he argued that Osun people cannot be taken for granted at the polls.

“I’m partly from Osun; my mother is from Osun, and I can tell you that Osun people are among the most brilliant human beings you will ever find in Nigeria,” he said.

He said the people of Osun backed Governor Ademola Adeleke because of his performance, but warned that their loyalty has limits.

“They supported Adeleke because he performed, but that support is not unconditional. I can tell you today that if he tells them to vote for Tinubu, they will go against him and Tinubu,” he added.

Momodu also said the South-West is not benefiting from the Tinubu administration more than other regions.

He said the President’s closest allies dominate his cabinet, and that the Yoruba are suffering alongside other Nigerians.

“Ninety per cent of those in Tinubu’s cabinet today are his cronies, so the Yoruba people are suffering just like those from the Northwest, Northeast, North-Central, Southeast, and South-South,” he said.

Momodu Predicts Obi Victory in South-East

Meanwhile, Momodu predicted that the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will defeat Tinubu in the South-East and parts of the South-South.

Peter Obi is a former governor of Anambra State and the NDC’s flagbearer for the 2027 election.

Momodu said Tinubu will struggle in the North because former President Muhammadu Buhari, who backed him in 2023, is now late.

“Peter Obi will humiliate Tinubu and all his supporters in the South-East and some parts of the South-South, and that’s dangerous for Tinubu,” he said.

He said Tinubu must win all three southern regions to stand a chance, but that path is now closed to him.

Momodu Compares Tinubu to Abacha as Atiku Reacts

Momodu also accused Tinubu of coercing Nigerians the way the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, did.

Abacha ruled Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998.

“Tinubu is doing exactly what Abacha did: coercing everyone because he wants to be President,” he said.

“President Tinubu has done far worse than what Abacha did. Tinubu has virtually taken over everything, including the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.”

Meanwhile, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said Tinubu is prioritising political alliances over the economic hardship and insecurity Nigerians face.

Atiku spoke in a statement issued on Wednesday by Phrank Shaibu, director of strategic communication of the ADC presidential campaign council.

He described the size of the revised APC presidential campaign council as a confession of fear.