The 2027 presidential race has opened a fresh line of attack on President Bola Tinubu, with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, questioning why a sitting president would reportedly seek to stay away from the campaign trail while asking Nigerians to renew his mandate.
Adebayo said Tinubu’s reported intention to excuse himself from the 2027 campaign circuit raised questions about his willingness to face voters amid growing concerns over the economy and the impact of government policies on households.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his campaign’s Chief Communications Adviser, Comrade Mark Adebayo, the SDP candidate challenged the President to leave office if he could no longer cope with its demands.
“You’re tired and weak; go home and let Nigeria breathe,” he said.
Adebayo argued that a president seeking another four-year term should be prepared to engage voters, defend his administration’s record and answer questions about the state of the country.
He accused Tinubu of being distant from Nigerians, citing what he described as prolonged foreign trips, inadequate responses to national emergencies and reliance on representatives to communicate important government decisions.
“Nigeria is too complex, too dynamic, and currently too distressed to be governed by remote control,” Adebayo said.
“If you are too tired to campaign, you are too weak to govern.”
The SDP candidate also turned the controversy into an attack on Tinubu’s economic record, citing petrol subsidy removal, inflation and currency instability as policies he claimed had intensified hardship for Nigerians.
He alleged that the President’s reported decision to stay away from the campaign circuit could be linked to public anger over the administration’s performance.
“The truth is that the President is terrified of the Nigerian people. He knows the pain his bad policies have inflicted on families across this country,” Adebayo said.
He further argued that the campaign trail would offer voters an opportunity to express their dissatisfaction with the administration, claiming that Tinubu risked facing hostile reactions at public rallies.
Adebayo called on the Federal Government to put national interest above political survival and provide greater transparency about the President’s capacity to continue discharging his responsibilities.
The statement, signed by Mark Adebayo in Abuja on October 14, did not include a response from the Presidency.
The reported plan for Tinubu to excuse himself from the campaign circuit, and Adebayo’s claims about the President’s motives, had not been independently verified as of publication.