2027 Elections: Tinubu Issues Serious Warning To Rivals
- President Bola Tinubu told Catholic bishops at the Presidential Villa that he would not step aside for political opponents without a contest
- Tinubu pointed to an uninterrupted university academic calendar and the absence of ASUU strikes as proof his administration was delivering results
- The President addressed mission schools, economic hardship, and national security during the meeting that lasted barely an hour
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Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
FCT, Abuja - President Bola Tinubu has put his 2027 political rivals on notice, telling Catholic bishops at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday that he would not make their path to power easy.
Tinubu was speaking when he received the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, led by Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso.
As reported by The Punch, the meeting lasted barely an hour on Tuesday, July 28, 2026.
"Those who would take it from me will try. They will try. All is fair in politics, and there is equal opportunity.
"I won't offer them a red carpet. I won't offer them the leash to tie me at home. No, we will wrestle each other to the finishing point."
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Tinubu defends INEC against bias claims
The President also pushed back against criticism of the Independent National Electoral Commission, dismissing opposition complaints about the electoral body as unfounded.
"INEC is neutral. They have never intimidated anybody. If political opponents are crying wolf, then they are afraid of their own shadows and the uncertainty in the company they keep."
On education, Tinubu cited the unbroken academic calendar in public universities as a tangible achievement ordinary Nigerians could appreciate. He described the absence of Academic Staff Union of Universities industrial action as a direct answer to prayer.
"None of your children in university today can say a four-year course is not four years. ASUU is not on strike. They are not bringing agony to your homes. Is that not an answer to our prayers? To me, that's an answer," he told the clerics.
Between 1999 and 2022, ASUU called strikes that cost Nigerian students over five years of academic time in total. The longest single action, a nine-month strike, ended in 2022. Tinubu said no comparable disruption has occurred since he took office in May 2023.
Tinubu speaks on economy, security
Acknowledging the economic difficulties that have defined much of his time in office, Tinubu said he accepted responsibility for the situation.
"I inherited it. I didn't run away. I asked for this job. I'm in it."
He added that stability had been achieved and that improved living conditions were within reach.
Closing on national unity, the President said Nigerians had no alternative but to build the country they had inherited.
"We don't have another country but here."
El-Rufai: ADC fires fresh shot at Tinubu
Recall that the ADC national publicity secretary Bolaji Abdullah issued a direct warning to President Tinubu over the detention of former Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai
Abdullahi alleged that el-Rufai's continued custody is politically motivated and designed to sideline him from the 2027 elections.
El-Rufai is facing separate trials by the DSS and ICPC, with his bail application dismissed in early July, while his wives have appealed to Tinubu for help.
Source: Legit.ng
