The National Director of Media Monitoring and Rapid Response of the City Boys Movement, Bashir Ahmad, has disagreed with the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, vice presidential candidate, Rabi’u Kwankwaso, over his criticism of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council.
Ahmad, in a post on his verified X handle on Sunday, said Nigerians should scrutinise governments and demand better governance, but argued that reducing the 2027 presidential election to a battle between oppressors and the oppressed would not promote meaningful national discourse.
According to him, the APC Presidential Campaign Council should be assessed based on the policies, programmes and vision it presents to Nigerians rather than the political identities of its members.
The former presidential aide maintained that the 2027 election should focus on ideas, records, competence and competing visions for the future of Nigeria.
Commenting on the appointment of former Zamfara State Governor Abdul’aziz Yari as head of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Ahmad said Yari was experienced enough to determine whether to accept a national responsibility.
He added that Yari’s experience as a former governor and senior political figure should be regarded as an asset to the political process rather than automatically interpreted as complicity in every challenge facing the country.
Kwankwaso had earlier criticised the APC Presidential Campaign Council, describing the 2027 election as a contest between oppressed Nigerians and those responsible for their oppression.
Reacting to the position, Ahmad said: “I respectfully disagree with this characterisation of the APC Presidential Campaign Council. Nigerians are not passive victims waiting for political actors to tell them what their choices are.
“Nigerians are intelligent citizens capable of examining the records of governments, comparing alternatives and deciding for themselves what direction they want the country to take.
“The 2027 election should therefore be about performance, ideas and the future of Nigeria, not inflammatory labels of ‘oppressors’ and ‘oppressed’. Let Nigerians decide.”
