Breaking: Fresh Details Emerge as Tinubu is Asked to Step Aside from the 2027 Presidential Race
- Atiku Abubakar condemned the Tinubu administration over the BCDA leadership dispute, saying the confusion signals a deeper crisis of governance competence
- Atiku's statement flagged a pattern of institutional disorder spanning NIPOST, PFIPC, and now BCDA, warning that investors and development partners are watching
- The former Vice President called on President Tinubu to drop his 2027 re-election ambitions and focus on addressing Nigerians' pressing challenges
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has demanded that President Bola Tinubu abandon his re-election campaign and address mounting governance failures, citing the leadership dispute at the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) as the latest evidence of what he described as systemic administrative collapse.
The statement, dated July 17, was released through Atiku's Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, who serves as spokesperson for the former Vice President and 2023 African Democratic Congress presidential candidate.
Source: Getty Images
Atiku questioned how a presidential appointment could be publicly announced and yet the outgoing official continued to occupy the office, conduct meetings with ministers, and remain listed on the agency's official website as its chief executive.
"How does a President publicly appoint a new head of a federal agency, yet weeks later the person said to have been replaced remains in office, continues to exercise authority, appears on the agency's official website as its chief executive, and even holds official meetings with ministers?" he asked.
BCDA appointment and the legal question
Beyond the standoff between the two officials, Atiku raised a procedural concern: the law establishing the BCDA designates its head as an Executive Secretary, not a Director-General, yet the Presidency used the latter title for both the outgoing and incoming officials in its announcement.
"This is not a mere typographical error. It raises legitimate questions about whether the appointment process was subjected to the most basic legal scrutiny before it was announced. Government is not conducted by guesswork," he said.
Atiku situated the BCDA dispute within what he characterised as a recurring pattern of institutional disorder, citing earlier confusion over leadership at the Nigerian Postal Service, the Presidency's shifting position on the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, disputed budgetary allocations to agencies for activities outside their mandates, and repeated policy reversals.
"When one incident occurs, it may be dismissed as human error. When it happens repeatedly, it becomes evidence of systemic failure. From NIPOST to PFIPC and now BCDA, this administration has demonstrated an alarming inability to coordinate even routine governmental decisions," he said.
The former Vice President argued that a government unable to manage a routine leadership transition within its own agencies could not credibly claim the capacity to tackle insecurity, economic decline, or institutional reform.
Atiku called on the Presidency to clarify the legal status of BCDA's leadership, ensure all future appointments comply with the relevant enabling legislation, and restore discipline to government operations.
He concluded with a direct appeal to President Tinubu to step back from seeking a second term.
"Having presided over an administration that has lurched from one avoidable controversy to another, President Tinubu should take an honest look at the state of the nation and draw the only honourable conclusion," Atiku said, adding that Nigeria could not afford another four years of what he called drift and confusion.
Atiku tackles Tinubu over abduction
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar strongly condemned the kidnapping of students, the principal of Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc official in Kogi State, calling the incident evidence that the Nigerian government has abandoned its core duty to protect lives and safeguard the education of its children.
This was contained in a statement cited by Legit.ng on Wednesday, July 15, and issued by Phrank Shaibu, Atiku's Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, on behalf of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate.
Source: Legit.ng
