2027: Tinubu beatable, his govt committing so many errors- Ex DSS DG, Daura

Explains why Nigerians should support the Makinde-Daura ticket

Says Buhari was surrounded by sycophants who betrayed his trust

The vice-presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Lawal Daura, has declared that President Bola Tinubu is not unbeatable in the 2027 presidential election.

Daura stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, hours after the APM, which has Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election, commissioned its presidential campaign office in Abuja.

The former Director General of the Department for State Services (DSS) described Tinubu as a “very amiable person”, but said he could be defeated in the election because his administration had made so many errors.

Asked if he believed Tinubu could be beaten in the 2027 presidential polls, Daura replied, “Very well,” adding, “They say nobody is perfect, especially when you are a politician; you commit so many errors, even if it is inadvertent.”

When queried further on whether Tinubu’s government was committing errors, Daura quipped, “Very well.”

Asked if his party would take advantage of the errors he claimed Tinubu’s government was making, he replied, “We are not taking advantage, we are even helping to correct those errors. But those functionaries that are either incompetent or are not able to see what we are seeing may not allow it to be used.”

On why Nigerians should consider the APM presidential ticket during the 2027 election, Daura said he and Makinde shared a similar passion for Nigeria, which centred on resetting the country.

“We are a pair that seems to really understand each other; we share the same passion for this country, and don’t forget, one of our mottos is that we are resetting this country,” he said.

The former DSS DG said Makinde’s advantage in the presidential race was that the Oyo State governor belonged to both the digital and analogue ages.

According to him, this makes it easier for Makinde to relate with the huge number of Nigerian youths.

Daura also said he would be a “very loyal” vice-president to Makinde, maintaining that any disagreement between the duo would be purely on issues and not personal.

The former DSS DG also said late former President Muhammadu Buhari was surrounded by sycophants who betrayed the trust he placed in them and took advantage of his administration.

He said those criticising Buhari’s government as the worst in Nigeria’s history should examine the country’s political history between 1995 and 2023 before arriving at such a conclusion.

Daura said his role as intelligence chief required him to remain close to Buhari, adding that he stood by the former president and protected his administration.

 “Yes, they can say it, but I also want them, the real students of history, to go back from 1995 to 2023, when he exited, and find out which were the worst years. I wasn’t part of the government then,” he said.

“And that will show you that I stood by him and I protected that government. Everything started to give way after 2018 since I left office.”

The former DSS DG said there were sycophants around Buhari, claiming that he knew some of them and was aware of their actions.

Daura added that he knows “the details of what they have done” and rejected the suggestion that he was part of a so-called cabal around the late former president.

“No, there is no cabal,” he said.

“Even if there was a cabal, the intelligence chief of a country can never be part of a cabal because the schedule I handled made it necessary for me to be close to the president at all times.”

According to Daura, the people he described as sycophants did not “necessarily” misdirect Buhari but instead betrayed the trust the former president placed in them.

Speaking on the lessons that could be drawn from Buhari’s administration, Daura said personal relationships should not automatically determine who gets appointed to public office.

He said loyalty to, or association with, an individual should be separated from whether a person is qualified and trustworthy enough to hold a particular public position.

He added that even where a trusted associate is considered for public office, the person’s competence should be assessed, and the appointment should reflect their abilities and the level of trust placed in them.

Daura said Buhari’s administration “ultimately” suffered because people were entrusted with responsibilities without ufficient consideration of their suitability for the positions.

“And even if you are to do that, you must also weigh the quality of that person and then maybe place him in an office that befits him or is proportionate to maybe the level of trust you have in that person,” he said.

“But in that situation, an unfortunate situation, I would say, it so happened that people were just, you know, trusted.”