Labour strike, referendum on Tinubu’s 2027 bid — Makinde campaign

ABUJA – The Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation, MDPCO, has described the three-day warning strike by Nigerian workers as a referendum on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for a second term, saying the action has exposed the consequences of his administration’s economic policies.

For Nigerians struggling with rising living costs and shrinking purchasing power, the campaign said, the strike has sharpened the question of whether the Tinubu administration deserves another mandate in 2027.

In a statement by its Director of Strategic Communication, Richard Ihediwa, MDPCO said the economic crisis that produced Labour’s Charter of Demands reflected the hardship caused by the administration’s policies.

“The warning strike is a direct referendum on a failed government; a stark measure of how ill-conceived and ill-implemented economic policies have triggered widespread poverty in Nigeria,” it said.

The campaign organization also questioned how the President could seek a second term after what it described as his government’s failure to shield Nigerians from the consequences of its policies.

“We ask, how can a government that failed to shield its citizens from the consequences of its policies, credibly ask the same citizens to renew its mandate?” it asked.

MDPCO faulted the administration over delayed and repeatedly rolled-over capital-budget implementation, continued borrowing, declining transparency and accountability, unfulfilled promises and what it described as elusive gains from subsidy removal.

It further dismissed the government’s celebration of its economic reforms, arguing that the claimed gains remained largely disconnected from the daily reality of Nigerians.

“Indeed, the continued celebration by the APC government of supposed gains of its economic reforms, when those claimed gains remain largely invisible in the daily lives of average Nigerians is self-delusional,” it said.

The group called for people-centred reforms, transparent social safety nets and policies that would protect livelihoods while boosting national production.

It said the proposed Makinde/Daura Presidency would pursue its RESET Nigeria Agenda, anchored on inclusiveness, national production, security, transparency and accountability.

“The Makinde/Daura Presidency with its RESET Nigeria Agenda offers our nation a clear alternative with well thought-out, data-driven and people-friendly policies,” it said.

MDPCO said Nigerians across party lines were rallying behind the APM presidential candidate, Engr. Seyi Makinde, ahead of the 2027 election, which it described as an opportunity to ‘RESET Nigeria’ into a nation that works for all.