2027: ADC dismisses The Economist’s report on Tinubu as ‘poor journalism’

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, has described a recent report by The Economist on President Bola Tinubu’s chances in the 2027 presidential election as “poor journalism”.

The Economist had reported that Tinubu could retain the presidency in 2027 despite public discontent over insecurity and economic hardship.

Reacting to the report in an interview with Trust TV, Abdullahi criticised what he described as elevating a news story to the level of an electoral projection.

“I’m embarrassed the way we are elevating a mere story to the level of an electoral projection, and if this were a logic class, then we would be guilty of what is called argumentum ad veracundiam,” he said.

He explained the phrase as an appeal to authority, arguing that the fact that a report was published by The Economist did not automatically make its conclusion credible.

“I read that story, and I think even as a piece of journalism it’s poor journalism. The fact that it’s published by The Economist does not excuse the fact that it is poor journalism,” Abdullahi said.

According to the ADC spokesperson, the report was based on limited interviews conducted in Borno, which he said could not reasonably be used to draw conclusions about the entire country.

“How do I mean? When you sit in one place in Borno, and probably Borno town, just the town, then you spoke to a couple of people and used that to extrapolate for the entire country, that’s not journalism,” he said.

Abdullahi, a former newspaper editor, said he would have rejected such a report if it had been submitted to him during his time at ThisDay newspaper.

“That’s not the way we do this work. And like I said on a different TV platform yesterday, if a reporter brought that to me as an editor, when I was at ThisDay newspaper, I would throw it back at him and say it’s lazy reporting,” he said.

When asked whether his criticism meant The Economist was a lazy platform, Abdullahi distinguished between the publication and the particular report.

“I’m saying that that story is poor journalism, and it cannot be excused just because it was published by The Economist,” he said.

The ADC spokesperson’s comments come amid growing political activities ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with parties and political actors increasingly scrutinising reports and projections on the contest.