Don’t Drag Foreign Institutions Into Nigeria’s Politics, Pro-Tinubu Group Tells Atiku

Deputy National Leader (Southeast) of the Renewed Hope for Greater Nigeria (RHGN), Mazi Franklin Ngoforo, has cautioned former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar to resist the urge to invite foreign organisations and countries into Nigeria, saying it was unacceptable.

Ngoforo made the disclosure in Jos, Plateau State, shortly after the flag-off of RHGN’s campaign activities for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election at the weekend.

The RHGN deputy national leader, in a statement, accused the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate of looking to foreign powers for avenues through which to prosecute his political battle against Tinubu.

He urged Nigerians to reject what he described as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s “politics of external interference” and rally behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

According to Ngoforo, Alhaji Abubakar’s reported efforts to involve American institutions, including schools, lobbying interests and the United States judiciary in matters relating to President Tinubu, amounted to an unacceptable attempt to introduce foreign institutions into Nigeria’s domestic electoral contest.

He maintained that Nigeria is a sovereign nation with its own constitution, electoral laws, courts and institutions capable of determining questions concerning the qualification and eligibility of candidates.

Further, Ngoforo said issues concerning certificates submitted to Nigerian authorities and the eligibility of candidates for Nigerian elections should be determined principally within Nigeria’s legal and constitutional framework.

The RHGN chieftain however questioned the relevance of allegations concerning purported events in another jurisdiction several decades ago to the conduct of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election, saying the allegations concerning drugs or financial matters allegedly investigated in the United States many decades ago do not automatically become Nigerian electoral offences or grounds for disqualification.

He said “if there is a question about a Nigerian election, take it to the Nigerian courts and allow Nigerian law to determine it. “You cannot turn an allegation from decades ago in another country into a substitute for Nigeria’s Constitution and electoral laws.”

Ngoforo insisted that the Nigerian electorate, rather than foreign institutions, will ultimately determine who governs Nigeria.

According to him, Nigerians should condemn what he described as Atiku’s “lazy politics” and reject any political strategy that could expose Nigeria’s electoral process to undue external influence.

The RHGN executive urged voters to support Tinubu on the basis of what he described as the administration’s record and continuing development agenda, while calling on RHGN members and supporters to intensify grassroots mobilisation across the country.

He said the 2027 election should be an opportunity for Nigerians to defend the sovereignty of their democratic process by choosing their President themselves, saying “the Nigerian President will not be elected in an American school, lobbying office or courtroom. He will be elected by Nigerians, on Nigerian soil, through the Nigerian ballot”, Ngoforo said.

Ngoforo said the call for international intervention portrays that sovereign states take foreign interference in elections extremely seriously.

He cited Romania as a particularly instructive contemporary example, where the country’s 2024 presidential election was annulled amid allegations of Russian interference benefiting Călin Georgescu. Romanian authorities subsequently barred Georgescu from participating in the rerun, while he was also subjected to criminal investigation.

Ngoforo said the Romanian experience demonstrated the importance of protecting the sovereignty of national elections from foreign influence, adding that “the Nigerian presidency cannot be outsourced to Washington.”

Further, he argued that Atiku’s approach represents a failure to appreciate the essence of democratic competition, adding that a presidential candidate seeking to govern Nigeria should espend his energy convincing Nigerian voters, presenting a credible programme and explaining how he intends to address the country’s economic, security and developmental challenges, rather than seeking ammunition from foreign institutions against a political opponent.

Ngoforo said the right response to Tinubu’s policies should be a stronger political alternative presented to Nigerians, not what he described as an attempt to internationalise domestic political disputes. “If Atiku believes Nigerians do not want Tinubu, he should go to Nigerians and persuade them. If he believes Tinubu is legally unqualified, he should make his case under Nigerian law,” he said.