…Says Nigerians, not politicians, will decide who occupies elective offices
The Executive Director of #FixPolitics Africa, Anthony Ubani, has criticised the growing declaration of “no vacancy” in Aso Rock and Government Houses by politicians and their supporters ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that elective offices are not the personal property of incumbents.
Ubani said the increasingly popular political slogan suggested a troubling sense of entitlement among elected officials and their supporters, stressing that the power to determine who occupies public office belongs exclusively to the Nigerian electorate.
In a statement, the governance advocate expressed concern over declarations that President Bola Tinubu’s re-election was non-negotiable, as well as similar pronouncements by supporters of governors and other political officeholders across the country.
Q3: Dangote Refinery Posts $22.5bn Revenue, records $4.7bn Profit as Cash reserves hit $6.7bn
Oye to Tinubu: Turn $53.11bn Reserves, 4.43% Growth Into Cheaper Food, Jobs
“We hear that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock. No vacancy in one Government House or another. We are told that a second term is ‘non-negotiable’, or that an election will be a ‘walkover’,” Ubani stated.
“Politicians may regard these as harmless expressions of confidence. They are not. Words shape political behaviour, and in a democracy, they also reveal how politicians think about our power.”
He argued that such declarations created the impression that incumbents possessed an automatic right to remain in office, irrespective of the choices voters might make at the ballot box.
“The troubling assumption behind ‘no vacancy’ is that an incumbent somehow owns an elective office beyond the mandate already given by voters. The Constitution says otherwise,” he said.
Citing Section 14(2)(a) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria, Ubani maintained that elected officials exercise authority only through mandates granted by citizens.
According to him, neither the President nor any governor or legislator can legitimately claim permanent ownership of an elective position.
“A President does not own the Presidency, a governor does not own Government House, and a senator does not own a Senate seat,” he declared, stressing that public officials occupy their positions temporarily on the authority of the electorate.
Ubani explained that while eligible incumbents have the constitutional right to seek re-election, their continued stay in office must be determined by voters rather than political declarations.
“In plain language, the Constitution settles the matter. At the end of each electoral cycle, the mandate returns to the people. An incumbent who is eligible may ask for another term, but cannot claim it. The voters may renew the mandate or give it to someone else,” he said.
Highlighting examples of the rhetoric, Ubani recalled that Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo had declared in June that there was “no vacancy in Aso Rock”, reportedly adding that opponents could even kidnap his supporters without changing the political outcome.
He also cited similar declarations in Niger State, where a senior adviser to Governor Mohammed Bago reportedly insisted that there would be no vacancy in Government House in 2027.
In Kaduna State, he said, the state chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria had made a similar pronouncement concerning Sir Kashim Ibrahim House.
The #FixPolitics Africa executive director further referenced Enugu State, where the Secretary to the State Government reportedly described Governor Peter Mbah’s second term as “non-negotiable” and declared that there was no vacancy in the Lion Building.
According to Ubani, similar political expressions have emerged in Delta and Benue states, suggesting that the rhetoric is becoming widespread across party and regional lines.
He also criticised endorsements from traditional institutions, citing the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, who reportedly declared in September that there was no vacancy in Aso Rock while expressing support for Tinubu’s re-election.
Ubani noted that the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Nentawe Yilwatda, had described northern support for Tinubu in 2027 as non-negotiable, while the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, had reportedly made similar remarks about the President’s second-term ambition.
He also referenced former Lagos governorship candidate Abdul-Azeez Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, who predicted that the 2027 presidential election would be a walkover for Tinubu.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, had similarly suggested that the presidential contest could become a walkover because of what he described as the weakness of the opposition.
Ubani, however, acknowledged that political parties and their supporters were entitled to express confidence in their candidates and campaign vigorously for electoral victory.
Eight Hospitals, No Treatment: Aide Recounts Gospel Singer Toluwanisings’ Final Hours
ICPC Fires Officer Accused of Smuggling El-Rufai’s Wife Into Custody
He maintained that there was a fundamental distinction between predicting electoral success and suggesting that a public office was unavailable for democratic contest.
According to him, a political party may legitimately argue that its candidate deserves another term, just as supporters may confidently declare their expectation of victory.
But he insisted that saying “we believe we will win” was fundamentally different from declaring that there was “no vacancy” in an elective office.
Ubani urged political actors to recognise that the legitimacy of democratic government rests on the consent of citizens, whose constitutional authority to choose their leaders must remain paramount.
He maintained that the 2027 elections should be approached as an opportunity for Nigerians to assess incumbents and challengers, rather than as a predetermined exercise in renewing existing mandates.
