2027: Most Lucrative Endeavor in Nigeria Is Attacking Tinubu – Melah

Bonaventure Phillips Melah, a respected journalist and author based in Abuja, has argued that President Bola Tinubu has turned into a prime target of persistent, intense attacks as the 2027 presidential election edges closer.

According to Melah, these attacks have spared no institution or individual connected to the Tinubu administration, with political actors orchestrating an all-out attempt to undermine and discredit the President and those around him.

In particular, Melah drew attention to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Bayo Ojulari, who, he claims, have come under unfair and orchestrated fire from politicians pursuing a broad scheme to destabilize President Bola Tinubu’s government in the run-up to the next general elections.

In a written statement titled “2027, NNPCL and the Gathering of Termites,” Melah elaborated that as Nigeria draws nearer to the 2027 elections, some political players have shifted from offering legitimate criticism of government policy to pursuing targeted campaigns that frustrate and sabotage key figures appointed by President Tinubu.

Melah stated clearly, “The most attractive vocation in Nigeria today is to attack Tinubu and smear his administration, and this trend will only escalate as 2027 approaches.”

He further explained that the grand design is to focus aggressive attacks on the President directly, or to aim those attacks at Tinubu’s most trusted appointees and loyal aides, especially individuals holding critical positions within strategic ministries, departments, and agencies essential to advancing the Renewed Hope Agenda.

As Melah described it, “The overall mission is simple — to silence and weaken the President’s positive achievements, and thereby influence public perception of the administration, with the ultimate aim of pushing through a regime change in 2027.”

He also pointed out that the so-called “anti-Tinubu war” seems to revolve around a relentless offensive against the President’s “First Eleven,” meaning his most trusted officials. Melah argued that these key officials are being targeted in hopes of forcing President Tinubu to dismiss them, or at the very least distracting them so severely that they cannot deliver on their mandates for the Nigerian people.

“It is therefore no surprise,” Melah stressed, “that Dr. Bayo Ojulari, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, who only assumed his role a few months ago, has become a major victim and a choice prey of the hawks, termites, vultures of destruction, and enemies of progress.”

Melah strongly rejected recent news reports which claimed that NNPCL violated due process by holding a corporate retreat in Kigali, Rwanda, calling such stories intentionally twisted and designed to cast the management in a negative light.

He further clarified that while it is true that NNPCL is being investigated over prior contracts tied to refinery rehabilitation projects, Dr. Ojulari was never responsible for those contracts since he was not yet in office when they were awarded or implemented.

In Melah’s own words, “It is neither Ojulari nor his current management team that is under investigation,” thereby defending the current leadership.

He made an appeal to Nigerians, urging them to support reform-minded public servants like Dr. Ojulari and allow them the breathing room necessary to fulfill their duties, rather than constantly bogging them down with politically driven attacks.

While acknowledging that public office holders should certainly be scrutinized and held accountable by citizens, Melah cautioned that Nigerians should remain vigilant before blindly accepting the opinions of critics who might be motivated by hidden agendas.

As he put it, “We all agree that elected and appointed leaders must face public scrutiny and be accountable to the people, but well-meaning Nigerians should be extremely careful before drinking from the double-bellied coffee mug of certain critics.”

He stressed that many of these critics have long-standing political, ethnic, or religious prejudices and, in some cases, simply act out of spite, mischief, or outright hatred for Nigeria. Others, he argued, may be willing to say or do anything purely for financial gain.

Melah concluded with a warning that many of the loudest voices condemning the current administration today are precisely those who played a part in leading Nigeria into its present challenges. He therefore urged citizens not to be carried away by such people, whose motives might be more about self-serving ambition than genuine concern for the country’s progress.