As preparations for the 2027 general election begin to gain traction with different parties organising their congresses and conventions, a political group, BAT Ideological Group (BAT-IG), has advocated for sanctions against non and underperforming leaders at all levels of governance.
The group believes that the approaching elections provide a critical opportunity to enforce accountability across all levels of government.
Bamidele Atoyebi, the Convener of the BAT-IG, in an open letter to the leadership of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), urged President Bola Tinubu to deny such persons the opportunity to return to office.
According to the group, elected officials who failed to translate increased federal allocations and resources into visible development projects must not be rewarded with party tickets for re-election bids.
Atoyebi noted that poor governance has contributed to persistent challenges such as insecurity, weak healthcare systems, and inadequate infrastructure, stressing that such failures should carry political costs.
He urged the president to extend accountability measures beyond governors to include ministers, heads of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), members of the National Assembly, and local government chairmen.
According to the group, denying underperforming officials political opportunities would serve as a deterrent and compel leaders to prioritise service delivery.
The letter also highlighted concerns over the management of security votes, lack of investment in rural infrastructure, and insufficient support for primary healthcare and education, which it said continue to negatively impact citizens.
While reaffirming its support for the president, the group stressed the need for decisive action to ensure that public office holders are held responsible for their performance.
It added that enforcing political accountability would strengthen governance and align leadership outcomes with public expectations.
“The time is ripe for the hunter to be hunted. It is time for the president to deploy his legendary political sagacity to hold these leaders accountable. We urge President Tinubu to use this electioneering period to demand scorecards worthy of good governance. Let it be known that if their projects do not match their monthly paychecks, they should be shown the way out, as that makes them bad managers of much-needed resources. Their political dreams should be cut short.
”Let them understand that there is a time for everything under the sun: a time to work, and a time for that work to be accounted for. Let them feel the pains you feel when they fail to deliver on promises and expectations which in the long run, tend to blight your good works and intentions.
“Let them feel the pain of every Nigerian, the pain of those victimised by insecurity, because a governor refused to create LCDAs for proper coordination, or failed to provide vehicles and gadgets to security personnel while pocketing security votes. Let them feel the pangs of a mother who loses a child because a primary health centre lacks a doctor due to poor salaries, or the pain of pupils studying in classrooms without furniture.
”Put their political careers into jeopardy just as they have kept their citizens in darkness by failing to tap into the decentralisation of electricity you signed into law. Abort their political destinies just as their negligence has aborted the destinies of many Nigerians. Ensure they do not receive the tickets they desire to return to the office.
“This political reckoning should extend to ministers, DGs of MDAs, members of the National Assembly, and local government chairmen who are neither fruitful nor progressive. Also make their political roads as rough and impassable as the rural roads they refuse to build, and their daily lives as costly as food items that couldn’t be evacuated from rural areas because of a lack of access roads,” he noted.
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