President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday in Abuja warned political opponents seeking to unseat him in 2027 that he would not yield ground without a fight, saying all is fair in a democratic contest.
Tinubu made the remarks when he received the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President said, “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. That’s the truth. That is fair in politics,” the President told the bishops.
He also dismissed concerns about the electoral process, defending the Independent National Electoral Commission against accusations of bias.
He argued, “INEC is neutral. It has never, ever intimidated anybody. If political opponents are crying wolf, then they are afraid of their own shadows and the uncertainty in the company they keep.”
At the meeting, which lasted barely an hour, Tinubu told the clerics that three years of difficult reforms were yielding visible dividends, pointing to the uninterrupted academic calendar as a measure ordinary Nigerians could feel.
He described the silence of the Academic Staff Union of Universities as an answer to his prayers and those of many Nigerians.
“None of your children in university today—and I would say they are all your children because you are Reverend Fathers—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 said.
On the broader economic picture, Tinubu acknowledged that he had inherited both the assets and liabilities of the previous Muhammadu Buhari administration but insisted that stabilisation had been achieved and that better days were within reach.
“This government has stabilised, and there is prosperity on the horizon. The quality of life is improving,” he said, adding that he had not shirked the burden of difficult decisions.
“I inherited it. I didn’t run away. I asked for this job. I’m in it,” he added.
The President also discussed the return of mission schools to their original proprietors, a long-running point of contention between the Catholic Church and several state governments.
Tinubu noted that he had returned mission schools to the Church during his tenure as governor of Lagos State, pointing to Cardinal Anthony Okogie as a living witness to the decision he took while serving from 1999 to 2007.
However, he argued that the power to act lay with state governors, not the Federal Government, and urged the bishops to engage the states.
“The schools are in the states. Preach to them, the governors of your states. They do the job.
“There is no need for a constitutional amendment for that. That is part of democracy. Choice,” he said.
On national unity and security, he described Nigeria’s challenges as a generational issue that could not be escaped.
He said, “The security situation is what it is. We don’t have another country but here.
“This Nigeria. And we revert to our national anthem: in its complexity and diversity, we shall thrive, live, rejoice and be good to all of us.
“Our founding fathers did their best. They left us a nation, and we owe it to our generations yet unborn to build a nation of unity, stability and prosperity for the future.”
The Catholic bishops, led by Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, concluded their visit to the Presidential Villa at a few minutes past 5:00 p.m. local time and were conveyed out of the premises in a Toyota Coaster bus.
