The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of having “lost control” of his administration, calling on the National Assembly to determine if the President is still fit to discharge the duties of his office.
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the reported leadership crisis at the Border Communities Development Agency, BCDA, shows that presidential directives can now be ignored “without consequence.”
The party said the BCDA situation, where a man reportedly removed by presidential directive allegedly continues to occupy office and meet with senior government officials, points to a deeper problem.
“If the reports concerning the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) are true, then this is no longer about one disputed appointment. It is about something far more disturbing: who is actually in charge of the Nigerian Presidency?” the statement read.
The ADC argued that when a presidential appointment is disregarded, “we are witnessing a struggle for control of the Presidency itself.”
*Pattern of reversals and “phantom” agencies*
The opposition party linked the BCDA case to what it called a growing pattern, including the earlier controversy around the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, which it described as a “phantom” agency that “officially did not exist” but operated at the highest level.
It also cited repeated policy reversals by the Tinubu administration, including the suspension of the Cybersecurity Levy and the withdrawal of the Expatriate Employment Levy, as evidence of a government that “announces first, retreats later, and explains afterwards.”
“A government that cannot consistently stand by its own decisions gradually loses not only credibility, but authority,” Abdullahi said. “Investors become uncertain. The bureaucracy becomes confused.”
Citing “grave constitutional implications,” the ADC urged the National Assembly to invoke relevant constitutional provisions to ascertain that the President “remains fully capable in body and sound mind” and that executive powers are being exercised by him, “not appropriated by unelected interests operating behind the scenes.”
The party added: “If President Tinubu is unable to assert control over his own Presidency, then the honourable course is to acknowledge that reality and resign. Nigeria cannot afford a Presidency where nobody knows who is truly in charge.”
There has been no official response from the Presidency or the BCDA as of the time of filing this report.
The ADC statement comes amid growing public debate over appointments, policy consistency, and coordination within federal agencies under the current administration.
