The Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kaduna, Most Reverend Timothy Yahaya, has urged President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, and state governors to concentrate on the task of governance rather than prematurely launching into campaigns for the 2027 general elections.
Speaking to reporters, Bishop Yahaya expressed dismay at the early onset of political maneuvering just midway through the current administration’s term.
He criticized political leaders for shifting their focus to retaining power instead of confronting Nigeria’s pressing socio-economic challenges.
“Before this regime is two years in office, they started politicking, I think this is a bad culture for governance in our country. And I want to plead with the authorities, let’s play down politics. How can we finish an election before a full circle, we are already campaigning for another circle? What happened to governance?” he queried.
He called on political leaders to suspend all campaign-related activities until a few months before the next election cycle, emphasizing that premature politicking undermines effective leadership. “I want to plead with our politicians, I want to plead with the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and INEC, if it is possible, all political activities should be banned. Only nine months to the election, that ban should be lifted so that those who are elected to govern this country can give us their best,” he stated.
The bishop also lamented the proliferation of political billboards across the country despite the absence of tangible governance outcomes, describing the situation as degrading. “Honestly speaking, I don’t think it’s a good development that we have not seen good governance, and we see billboards everywhere. It’s very insulting, very degrading and other civilised climes will think we are jokers in this country,” he said.
Bishop Yahaya further criticized opposition figures who have defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress, accusing them of political opportunism. According to him, such defections are motivated not by ideological alignment but by personal gain.
“These politicians should ask themselves, do they even know where they are coming from and where they are going? Most of them in APC today, I can say without any fear of contradiction, 70 per cent of them have been in PDP. So, it is the same group of people. And who are they? They are all opportunists, anywhere the National cake is, they want to eat from it,” he said.
He went on to question the credibility of Nigeria’s opposition, arguing that many so-called opposition politicians would readily switch allegiance for personal benefit. “In fact, what you call opposition in Nigeria, as far as I am concerned, is not today. Today, if the national cake goes into the hands of another party, the same people will migrate because their stomach is the reason for looking for power and leadership in this country,” he concluded.
