A prominent Labour Party chieftain and former National Assembly candidate, Ezeh Emmanuel Ezeh, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to shelve their 2027 presidential ambitions to give younger leaders a chance.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Sunday, Ezeh stressed that Nigeria urgently needs a generational shift in leadership to move the country forward.

“Both President Tinubu and Alhaji Atiku belong to the old generation of Nigerian politics. The time has come for these two old war horses to call it a day in electoral contests,” Ezeh declared.

He urged Tinubu to focus on conducting a credible and transparent 2027 general election rather than seeking a second term, warning that the president’s rumoured interest in re-election is already raising political tensions. According to him, reports that Tinubu is courting incumbent governors, especially from the South, are further fuelling speculation.

Turning to Atiku, Ezeh warned that the former vice president’s alleged plan to run under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) could fracture the opposition and deepen Nigeria’s already fragile unity.

“Atiku is busy creating the impression in the North that the coalition is all about his presidential ambition. Two years to the election, Nigeria is already divided along regional lines. This is not a good omen for our country,” he said.

Ezeh appealed to both senior politicians to act as true statesmen by mentoring and supporting younger candidates who can inject fresh ideas into governance and bridge the nation’s widening divides.

As the 2027 race begins to take shape, Ezeh’s remarks add to growing calls for Nigeria to embrace younger leadership and end the cycle of recycled politicians. Whether Tinubu and Atiku will heed this advice remains to be seen.