Ahead of the scheduled exit of the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu by December, youths of the opposition African Democratic Congress ADC have cautioned President Bola Tinubu against any attempt to manipulate the processes of naming a replacement, vowing to defeat him in 2027 even if he appointed his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga as head of the commission.

The youths spoke on Tuesday in Abuja under the aegis of African Democratic Youth Congress ADYC.

Declaring that they were tired of being spectators in the affairs of the nation, the youths said they would match whatever measures or style adopted by the ruling All Progressives Congress APC to subvert the people’s will.

Some of those who spoke included the National Coordinator of the group, Mrs Ruqayya Lamido Dodo; its Director General, Murtala Haliru Dantoro, Joshua Nweke Anioma and others.

“Politics is about numbers. They can bring as much money they have but we are going to beat them silly in 2027.

“We saw Onanuga asking how market. The waters have been tested. We have other elections coming up and that is when they will know how market is because it is going to be fire for fire.

“On INEC, if Tinubu so wishes, he can make Bayo Onanuga the chairman but we in ADC, come 2027, we will make INEC do the needful. We have had enough. We are going to defend our votes from the polling units to the final collation centre. They can bring trillions of Naira. We are going to collect the money but we will vote ADC.

“If the president is going to chose the next INEC chairman, he should put Nigeria first. Someone who has integrity and who has the interest of Nigeria first and not given to primordial or partisan interests”, they declared.

Speaking on whether the outcome of last Saturday’s bye-elections was a true reflection of the strength of the ADC, Director General of the ADYC, Murtala Haliru Dantoro said the elections were nothing but a a show of shame.

He said; “It is important that people know that vote buying is criminal. What happened in my state, Niger, was heartbreaking. To be in a country whereby we cannot make decisions. Our decisions are baseless. We will love to see leaders who will allow our people decide freely during elections. There is no greatness in forcing yourself on the people.

“In Niger, they were paying people for as low as N2,000. I don’t know who said they should do that or who asked them to do that but we want the president to take note. It is unfortunate what happened but we pray Nigeria gets better.

“Our message is simple: We refuse to inherit a broken system. We are here to fix it with the strength of unity. We are not just a youth wing; we are the driving force of the ideologies of the Coalition party, African Democratic Congress ADC, and the future of this nation.

“Despite the difficulties we are facing, we have to rise and be part of our country’s electoral system. Let us join the Coalition party ADC, let’s vote right. We must understand that vote buying is not merely a transaction; it is a betrayal of our collective future”.

On her part, Mrs Dodo said the current generation is tired of being spectators in a country that belongs to them.

“For decades, we have heard the same tired promises. We have been called the ‘leaders of tomorrow’, a phrase that has become little more than a polite way to sideline us from today’s critical decisions. Our generation is tired of being spectators in a nation that belongs to us. We are tired of seeing our potentials wasted, our voices ignored, and our future held hostage by a political system that has failed us repeatedly.

“Today, we are here to declare that the African Democratic Youth Congress, the ADYC, is changing that narrative. We are not just a youth wing; we are the vanguard of a new movement. We are not waiting for tomorrow; we are building our nation today. We are the architects of a new Nigeria.

“The ADYC is the engine room of the African Democratic Congress ADC. Our mandate is simple but profound: to re-engineer Nigeria’s political landscape by championing the core values of transparency, accountability, and radical inclusion”, she said.

The ADC youths said their mission is to build a nationwide movement—one that is felt in every state, local government, and community.

“We are not interested in a top-down approach. Our strategy is to mobilize from the grassroots up, which we have done and are still doing, empowering young people in their communities to become agents of change.

“We are setting up local chapters and organizing community development projects that tackle real-world problems. We are using both traditional outreach and modern digital tools to ensure that our message of hope and action reaches every young.