Pack your bags, Melaye tells Tinubu ahead of 2027 polls

n n

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, Dino Melaye, has urged President Bola Tinubu and members of his family to start packing their belongings from the Presidential Villa.

n

He declared that the ADC will defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2027 general elections.

n

Melaye said the outcome of the election would reflect Nigerians’ growing dissatisfaction with the Tinubu administration, which he accused of failing to address hunger, insecurity and other challenges confronting the country.

n

The former senator and lawyer spoke in an interview with Arise TV on Monday.

n

He expressed confidence in the ADC’s chances, saying the party’s winning strategy was straightforward because Nigerians were ready for a change of government.

n

“The winning strategy for the ADC is very simple. The people are with us. The people are tired of maladministration.

n

“They are tired of lies. They are tired of borrowing. They are tired of three budgets in three successions not being implemented,” Melaye said.

n

He alleged that despite the government borrowing money to fund its budgets, several contracts awarded by the government remained unpaid.

n

“For example, you say you borrowed money to run the budget. You have borrowed the money. You have collected the money. But the budget has not been run.

n

“The budget has not been funded. Contracts awarded in 2024 have not been paid for. You are still implementing the 2024 budget in 2026,” he said.

n

Melaye said the hardship, insecurity, killings and alleged corruption in the country had created a disconnect between Nigerians and the government.

n

He maintained that Nigerians were watching the developments in the country and would express their dissatisfaction through the ballot.

n

“So I am telling you that this enchantment, the hunger in the land, the insecurity in the land, the killings in the land, the stealing, overstealing that is going on in the land already have shown and demonstrated that there is a complete disconnect between the people and government,” he said.

n

The ADC chieftain also criticised the Tinubu administration, saying Nigerians were now afraid of government rather than the government being mindful of the reactions of the people.

n

“But under Tinubu administration, people are afraid of government because they are so brazen, they are so wicked, they are so nonchalant, they don’t give a damn,” he said.

n

Melaye further accused the President of making comments suggesting that election rigging, violence and ballot snatching were acceptable in politics.

n

He said such statements were inappropriate for a President who should serve as a role model to young Nigerians.

n

“You have a president that have come out on air to tell the whole world that all is fair in politics. Rigging is fair in politics. Violence is fair in politics. Ballot snatching is fair in politics,” he said.

n

Melaye predicted that the result of the 2027 election would lead to a change of government, urging the President and his family to prepare to leave the Villa.

n

“And I’m telling you that the results will tell in January. The president and his family members should begin to pack their luggage and things from the villa, including those in the boys’ quarters of the villa, because there will be a change of government,” he said.

n

Melaye resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party in July 2025 and joined the ADC, after previously serving as spokesperson for the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

n

He has since become one of the ADC’s most vocal figures, pursuing legal challenges on the party’s behalf and clashing publicly with the Independent National Electoral Commission

n n