Former Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Adamu Maina Waziri, has defended the growing opposition to President Bola Tinubu’s reelection bid, saying the president himself once led an internal revolt against his own kinsman, former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Waziri, a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said this during an appearance on Trust Television, where he took a swipe at those claiming that opposition to Tinubu is based on ethnic or regional bias.

“In 2003, all the governors in the South West endorsed President Obasanjo. But Tinubu led the vanguard to reject it, despite Obasanjo being a southerner like him,” Waziri recalled.

He said the political maturity of the Nigerian electorate must be respected, and voters must be free to reject underperforming leaders regardless of ethnicity.

He described Tinubu’s current supporters as hypocritical, adding that if Tinubu could oppose Obasanjo on principle, then Nigerians can oppose him now without any moral contradiction.

“Everybody knew that between 1999 and 2003, the Obasanjo administration earned public trust through visible development, improved security and national unity,” he said.

Waziri noted that under Obasanjo, the country saw a rebound from military-era collapse, with clear efforts to bridge the north-south divide.

He said comparing Tinubu’s record to that of Obasanjo only highlights the glaring shortcomings of the current government.

“What we are doing today by resisting Tinubu is justified. He must be judged by his performance, not by regional claims or sentiments,” he added.

Waziri called on opposition parties and citizens to stand firm in challenging the failures of the current administration ahead of 2027. (Daily Trust)