Femi Otubanjo, a Research Professor at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, has said President Bola Tinubu is not obligated to campaign across all 36 states ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Otubanjo said Tinubu, when campaigning, would be acting as
the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, not as
Nigeria’s president.
He stated this while fielding questions on Arise Morning
Show on Thursday.
According to him, the president has no obligation to address
every Nigerian through campaign rallies.
“The reality, of course, it is not compulsory for the
president to campaign in 36 states.
"When the president goes to campaign, he is a candidate
of the APC, not the president of Nigeria. So he has no obligation to speak to
everybody,” he said.
Otubanjo also distinguished between political rallies and
campaign rallies, arguing that what Nigerians commonly describe as campaign
rallies are largely political gatherings rather than platforms for persuading
voters.
He said political rallies were primarily meant to mobilise
supporters who were already convinced about a candidate, rather than convince
undecided voters.
Citing rallies organised by US President Donald Trump as an
example, the professor said political gatherings in Nigeria were often
characterised by noise and claims about achievements or promises, rather than
efforts to persuade voters.
“If you can take your time and watch a video of a typical
Nigerian rally, it's all noise.
"It's all about bragging about what they have achieved,
or bragging about what they can achieve. It is not about convincing anybody,”
he said.
Otubanjo maintained that campaign rallies were neither
compulsory for the president nor the appropriate platform for addressing the
entire nation.
“And so, it's not really compulsory. It's not a venue. It's
not a platform for the president to address the nation,” he added.
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