President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
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By Dr. Samuel Danjuma Gani
With the 2027 general elections drawing closer, the central question before Nigerians is no longer simply who will occupy the Presidential Villa. It is whether the country, as presently constituted and governed, can continue along the same path without serious consequences for its democracy, security, unity and future.
The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF), after a recent extensive deliberations at its July 2026 meeting, believes the nation has reached a point where complacency is no longer an option.
Nigeria is at a tipping point.
The security crisis remains deeply troubling. Economic hardship continues to weigh heavily on ordinary citizens. Questions surrounding governance, institutional independence and the credibility of the electoral process are generating growing anxiety.
Against this background, the Forum has sounded an unmistakable warning: the 2027 elections must become a turning point in Nigeria’s search for a better political and constitutional order.
A Government Must Protect Its People
The starting point must be the Nigerian Constitution itself.
Section 14(2)(b) is unequivocal: “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”
This is not a political slogan. It is a constitutional obligation.
The NCEF’s assessment is that the performance of the Tinubu administration in national security, economic development and the welfare of Nigerians has fallen substantially short of what the people deserve.
For a nation battling terrorism, banditry, violent crime, economic hardship and widespread uncertainty, the patience of citizens cannot be treated as an inexhaustible political resource.
The Nigerian people have endured enough.
Government must therefore be measured not merely by policy announcements, speeches or political achievements, but by whether ordinary citizens are safer, economically more secure and more confident about their future.
Tinubu’s Second Term: The Elders’ Unusual Appeal
It is against this backdrop that the NCEF makes a politically significant appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: do not seek a second term.
This is not presented by the Forum as an act of hostility towards the President. Rather, it is a call for statesmanship.
The President has an opportunity to pursue a legacy that could outlive electoral politics.
Instead of concentrating the remainder of his tenure on securing another four years in office, the Forum urges him to devote the period to restructuring Nigeria and delivering a new constitutional framework.
That, in the judgment of NCEF, would be a statesmanlike decision.
Nigeria does not merely need another electoral contest. It needs answers to fundamental questions that have remained unresolved since independence: how should power be shared? How should the federation function? How can the constituent peoples of Nigeria feel adequately represented? How can institutions be strengthened against political manipulation? How can citizens enjoy genuine security and economic opportunity?
These are constitutional questions.
They cannot be permanently postponed.
The Muslim-Muslim Ticket and a Nation Under Siege
The NCEF is also taking exception to the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket at a time when Islamist terrorism and violent attacks remain major national concerns.
The Forum considers the arrangement tone-deaf and insensitive, particularly given the perception and experience of Christians who have been victims of violence in different parts of the country.
For NCEF, leadership in a deeply plural society such as Nigeria requires more than numerical calculations. It requires sensitivity to the fears, expectations and psychological wellbeing of all sections of the country.
The Presidency must be seen as the property of every Nigerian, irrespective of faith, ethnicity or region.
At a time of heightened insecurity, political leaders must consciously pursue arrangements that build confidence rather than deepen apprehension.
The Constitution Nigeria Needs
Perhaps the most consequential demand coming from the Christian elders is their call for a new constitution before the 2027 elections.
The Forum wants ethnic nationalities, socio-cultural organisations and other relevant stakeholders to take ownership of the process immediately.
Nigeria’s present constitutional framework, in the view of NCEF, has failed to adequately resolve several fundamental questions about the federation.
A new constitutional settlement should address the structure of the federation, devolution of powers, equitable representation, institutional independence, fiscal arrangements and other issues central to Nigeria’s long-term stability.
The argument is straightforward: if the foundation requires reconstruction, changing the occupants of the building alone will not solve the problem.
The 2027 elections should therefore be accompanied by a national conversation about the Nigeria Nigerians actually want.
Why the Presidency Should Return South
The Forum has also taken a clear position on the 2027 presidency.
While acknowledging that North-South rotation is not a constitutional provision, NCEF maintains that the arrangement has served an important political purpose by promoting stability, equity and inclusiveness.
The Forum therefore calls for support for a southern presidential candidate in 2027 to complete the four remaining years of the South’s current turn.
This position, according to the Forum, is rooted in the principle of fairness rather than any constitutional compulsion.
In a country as politically complex and ethnically diverse as Nigeria, informal arrangements that promote a sense of belonging cannot simply be dismissed because they are not written into the Constitution.
Political stability requires trust.
Trust requires fairness.
And fairness requires that no section of the country feels permanently excluded from the highest office in the land.
INEC and Judiciary: The 2027 Test
As politicians begin their manoeuvres for 2027, two institutions will carry enormous responsibility: the judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The NCEF is warning the judiciary that Nigeria can no longer afford any perception of judicial bias in electoral matters.
Courts must remain the final refuge for citizens who believe their electoral rights have been violated. Any perception that electoral justice can be influenced by political considerations poses a grave danger to democracy.
The same standard applies to INEC.
The electoral commission must remember that it belongs to Nigeria, not to any political party.
Its responsibility is to conduct elections that are credible, free, fair and transparent.
INEC must therefore remain independent, neutral and beyond reproach.
The 2027 election must not become another episode in which citizens lose confidence in the ballot because of perceived manipulation of the electoral process.
Institutions Cannot Be Captured
The Forum is also sounding the alarm over what it describes as the compromise of national institutions.
Democracy becomes meaningless when institutions designed to protect citizens are perceived to serve political interests.
NCEF draws a disturbing comparison between what it considers the present trend and the institutional climate associated with the military administration of General Ibrahim Babangida.
The lesson from Nigeria’s history is clear: once public institutions lose credibility, restoring public confidence becomes extraordinarily difficult.
The country must therefore halt any drift towards institutional capture.
Institutions must be allowed to function according to law rather than according to political convenience.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Council Controversy
The controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council has also attracted the attention of the Forum.
For NCEF, the matter cannot simply be dismissed or allowed to fade from public attention.
The Forum considers the controversy serious enough to warrant an independent, comprehensive investigation.
Such an inquiry, it argues, should establish the facts, determine responsibility where applicable and ensure that Nigerians receive credible answers.
The principle is simple: where serious questions are raised about public institutions and public trust, transparency must provide the answer.
Nigerians Are Tired of Waiting
Perhaps the most important warning contained in the NCEF’s July resolutions is that Nigerians’ patience should not be mistaken for satisfaction.
For years, citizens have endured insecurity, unemployment, inflation, poverty and deteriorating living conditions while continuing to hope that things will improve.
But patience has limits.
The Nigerian people want change — not change for the sake of political slogans, but change that translates into security, prosperity, justice and dignity.
The continued endurance of the Nigerian people should never be interpreted as an unlimited licence for poor governance.
2027 Must Be More Than Another Election
Nigeria cannot afford to approach 2027 as merely another competition between political parties and presidential aspirants.
The election should become a referendum on the quality of governance Nigerians want.
It should compel politicians to answer difficult questions.
What kind of federation should Nigeria become?
How should power be distributed?
How can citizens be made safer?
How can institutions become genuinely independent?
How can elections regain public confidence?
How can government become more responsive to ordinary Nigerians?
And, most importantly, how can Nigeria build a political system that gives every section of the country a genuine sense of ownership?
These are the questions that should define the road to 2027.
The National Christian Elders Forum believes Nigeria still has the capacity to correct its course. But that correction will require courage from political leaders, vigilance from institutions and sustained engagement by citizens.
The time has come to place Nigeria above individual ambition.
The time has come to put constitutional reform above political convenience.
The time has come to rebuild public institutions.
The time has come to restore confidence in elections.
And the time has come to recognise that the Nigerian people deserve a government whose foremost obligation is their security and welfare.
Nigeria is at a crossroads. What happens next will determine not only who governs the country after 2027, but what kind of country will be handed to the next generation.
God bless Nigeria.
*Dr. Samuel Danjuma Gani, CON is the Chairman of National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF)
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