Tinubu’s former aide Hakeem Baba-Ahmed drops shocking revelations about the president’s isolation and calls for him to step aside in 2027. Read full story.
Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, the former Special Adviser on Political Matters to Vice President Kashim Shettima, has blown the lid open on what he described as a deeply dysfunctional and isolated presidency under Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In a bold and revealing interview on Prime Time with Arise TV, Baba-Ahmed accused President Tinubu of failing to engage with his own aides, describing him as “genuinely isolated” and disconnected from Nigeria’s mounting realities.
Baba-Ahmed, who resigned from his role in March 2025, said he was never truly wanted or utilized in the Tinubu administration, and suggested that his presence in the villa felt more like filling a vacant seat than making any meaningful impact. “If it was all about me, quite possibly I would have stayed longer. But I felt I could have been a lot more useful to the country and to the administration,” he explained.
According to him, his daily engagement with Vice President Shettima was not enough, as the real decisions rested with Tinubu. Shockingly, he revealed that despite working within the presidency, he only managed to shake hands with Tinubu three times in the villa mosque – without ever having a proper sit-down with the President.
“I honestly don’t know. I think part of the problem is that he never really had time for people like us. I’m not sure he had time for a lot of the people working for him,” Baba-Ahmed lamented.
He described Tinubu’s detachment as either a deliberate strategy or the result of forces beyond the public’s understanding, adding, “The president really is genuinely isolated… and that’s a problem for the country.”
Worse still, the former Northern Elders Forum (NEF) spokesperson said many officials around Tinubu live in a bubble, completely detached from the harsh socioeconomic realities faced by ordinary Nigerians. “When you hear people close to him speak about Nigeria, it’s as if we live in two different worlds,” he stated.
Baba-Ahmed warned that the lack of access to the president has left many appointees powerless, unable to correct the course of governance. “So if he’s not going to look for solutions from people he appointed, there are only two options left: Is he getting advice from the wrong people? Or is he getting no advice at all?”
The outspoken adviser also used the interview to reinforce his earlier call for President Tinubu to step aside and not seek re-election in 2027. In an open letter dated April 23, Baba-Ahmed urged Tinubu to retire honorably for the sake of national progress, saying Nigeria deserves “a new generation of leaders with fresh energy and ideas.”
“We thought with people like you, we wouldn’t be seeing some of these things,” was the feedback he said he received from the public, underscoring the widespread disappointment with the administration.
The former adviser made it clear that unless President Tinubu changes his leadership approach and listens more to credible voices, the country risks deeper political and economic decay.
In a statement that’s already stirring tension across political lines, Baba-Ahmed also disclosed that the North will unveil its official position on the 2027 presidency within the next six months. “We know nobody will become president without the North,” he added, reigniting regional power shift debates.
While opposition voices and critics continue to sound alarm bells, the presidency is yet to respond to Baba-Ahmed’s explosive revelations. With 2027 fast approaching, this may just be the beginning of bigger political storms.
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