By Nathaniel Irobi
The National Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Dayo Israel, has declared that the mob will not be allowed to govern Nigeria, warning that the targeted hate and intimidation against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his family, and his supporters must end.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Dr. Israel said what the country is witnessing is no longer ordinary political disagreement but a deliberate and sustained campaign of targeted hate against the President, his family, and every Nigerian who openly stands with him.
He noted that from online mobs to physical confrontations, a section of the opposition, particularly elements within the Obidient movement, has made it a full-time occupation to attack, insult, threaten, and attempt to silence anyone associated with the President.
“Comedians, entertainers, creative professionals, ordinary supporters, and even public officials are routinely marked for destruction the moment they defend the administration or celebrate its achievements,” he said.
According to him, many in the creative industry have grown afraid to publicly identify with the President, not because they disagree with him, but because they know the personal cost of doing so, adding that families have been dragged into the fray.
“This is not politics. It is persecution,” Dr. Israel stated.
He cited the harassment of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, in London on Thursday, 12 November 2026, after he addressed a Chatham House event on preparations for the 2027 elections.
According to the APC Youth Leader, a small group of Nigerian protesters surrounded the INEC Chairman’s vehicle, shouted insults, and demanded his resignation, labelling INEC a “criminal organisation” and accusing it of bias toward President Tinubu and the APC.
He said a UK-based Nigerian lawyer who was present described the group as tiny, between ten and fifteen people, and alleged that some were paid to stage the confrontation, adding that former Senator Shehu Sani rightly condemned the harassment of the electoral umpire as an attack on democratic institutions before any election has even taken place.
“This was not a spontaneous expression of democratic concern. It was targeted intimidation of an independent institution, dressed up as protest,” he said.
Dr. Israel also condemned the Friday, 13 November attack in Abuja, where sponsored thugs and miscreants attempted to attack security operatives attached to the President’s convoy after he observed Juma’at prayers at the Shehu Shagari Central Mosque in Area 1, Garki.
He said videos circulated of youths throwing stones and chanting rejection slogans, and noted that the Presidency has correctly identified the actions as the work of opposition elements deploying paid thugs to manufacture a narrative of rejection.
“Any further attack on the person or the convoy of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not be condoned. Nigeria is a country governed by the rule of law, not the law of the mob,” he warned.
The APC Youth Leader also defended the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, saying that from her days as First Lady of Lagos State through the New Era Foundation to her current role, she has focused on empowering people and investing in communities.
He said the Renewed Hope Initiative has mobilised and deployed over one hundred billion naira in three years, reaching women entrepreneurs, widows of fallen security personnel, schoolgirls, disaster victims, and vulnerable families across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
“Her projects have delivered grants, scholarships, food support, and direct interventions to millions. To attack her is to attack the very people she serves,” he said.
Dr. Israel described President Tinubu as a reformer and a visionary whose administration has placed Nigeria on a clearer path of economic viability after years of structural distortion, noting that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough that major banks have substantially raised international spending limits on naira cards.
He said the majority of Nigerians voted for the President in 2023 and retain the right to support him again in 2027 if that is their democratic choice, stressing that no amount of online terror, physical harassment, or manufactured outrage will erase that right.
“Democracy is not the exclusive preserve of those who hate the President. Supporters of Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not be intimidated. Millions of us across the country believe in the direction he has set, understand the price of reform, and are prepared to stand by him so that Nigeria’s economy becomes stronger for generations to come,” he said.
He warned that attempts to cow Tinubu supporters online or on the streets will fail, adding that the constitution protects the right of every citizen to associate with, defend, and vote for the candidate of their choice.
“To the architects of this targeted hate: you will not succeed. The supporters of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not be cowed. We will continue to defend the reforms, the First Lady’s investments in people, and the democratic mandate freely given by Nigerians,” he said.
“Any further attack on the President, the First Lady, his convoy, or his supporters will be met with the full force of lawful resistance and the unbreakable resolve of those who believe Nigeria is worth the effort. Let the opposition be warned: we will not be intimidated.”
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