President Bola Tinubu has turned down lobbying efforts by the leadership of the Senate to secure automatic return tickets for the ruling party’s sitting legislators ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to Punch, Tinubu reaffirmed the authority of state governors over the selection of candidates in their respective states.
This was as he formally empowered governors to drive the primaries process after a meeting with the state executives on Thursday evening
The aforementioned publication gathered that the Tinubu’s decision has deepened anxiety among federal lawmakers, including several senators whose relationships with their governors have been strained.
The President made the decision at a closed-door meeting with the extended leadership of the Senate at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday evening.
Tinubu had earlier suggested that he would “do everything within the party’s power” to ensure the return of serving legislators, a promise that raised expectations in the National Assembly.
Multiple senior National Assembly sources familiar with the meeting said the senators had gone to the Villa specifically to press for Tinubu’s assurances.
The source said, “The meeting was to plead for automatic tickets for senators but President Tinubu insisted that the governor of each state has the influence over candidates.
“They made a case for continuity and stability and argued for automatic tickets, but the President was very clear in his response.
“He told them plainly that governors were the leaders of the party in their states and must have a say on who gets the ticket.”
The publication had spotted the official Mercedes sedan of Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, arriving at the Villa at minutes past 5pm on Wednesday.
It was also learnt that the visit that was not on the President’s official schedule for the day.
