LAGOS: The All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared that Nigeria will not return to what it described as years of regression and squandered opportunities, insisting that the 2027 general elections will mark a decisive moment of democratic reckoning.
The party, through its Lagos State spokesman, Mr Seye Oladejo, made the assertion on Monday, warning opposition figures against what it called attempts to mislead Nigerians ahead of the polls.
Oladejo said the country had moved beyond what he termed a “dark, wasteful and inglorious era,” stressing that the electorate would reject any attempt to reverse ongoing reforms.
“2027 will not be a pathway back to regression or a return to squandered opportunities. Nigeria will not return to policy somersaults or leadership by rhetoric and ruinous experimentation,” he said.
He added that the forthcoming election would separate “genuine leadership from recycled ambition, substance from sloganeering, and nation-builders from opportunists.”
The APC spokesman accused opposition figures, particularly those aligned with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), of parading themselves in “borrowed robes of reform,” despite having held top public offices without delivering meaningful progress.
According to him, many of the opposition actors currently positioning themselves as alternatives had previously wielded significant power but failed to utilise opportunities for national development.
“Before anyone takes seriously the sanctimonious posturing of the opposition, it is proper to interrogate their records and credentials. These are not men unfamiliar with power, but old hands who have occupied the highest offices and wasted decades of national opportunity,” he said.
Oladejo questioned what he described as the opposition’s “newfound patriotism,” asking where such concern was when they were in positions of authority.
“Where was this patriotism when they held office? Where was the outrage when institutions weakened and governance faltered? It is hypocrisy for those who created yesterday’s failures to present themselves as today’s cure,” he said.
He further described the emerging opposition coalition as “displaced power brokers” lacking vision and ideological clarity, adding that Nigerians were now more discerning and less susceptible to what he termed the theatrics of recycled political actors.
Oladejo maintained that the reforms being implemented under President Bola Tinubu, though difficult, were necessary for long-term national development.
“These reforms may be tough, but they are courageous, purposeful and future-facing. They stand in sharp contrast to years of policy drift, fiscal indiscipline and leadership inertia,” he said.
He emphasised that political power must be earned through credibility, vision and public trust, warning that “blackmail, brinkmanship and rhetoric” would not secure electoral victory.
“Power is not served à la carte to failed actors. It must be earned through vision, credibility and the trust of the people,” he added.
