₦airaland Forum

Another nonsense talk which is part of the evil plan of APC.... As it stands, no election can remove this evil government from power, Tinubu and his gang will use the INEC, police and judiciary to rig the 2027 election.... The only way out is revolution that will sweep these people away from power.... Nigerians should be protesting against this callous government....

Alsenora:
Whether people like it or not the country's economy had pbeen damage over the years, from decades ago. Those who feel current policies are off should simply be patient enough to vote in their preferred candidates by 2027 to reverse the status quo....

Stop commenting on my thread.....

helinues:
Cry well well. My comments must have touched where it's not good

What a stupid and insensitive comment. Please I will advice that you stop commenting on my threads. Nigerians are not lazy people.... you will face the consequences for supporting Tinubu's callous policies.

helinues:
Let them continue pointing fingers while neglecting the direction of the remaining fingers pointed at others.

There will never be any food for the lazy ass men

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7yxCj4Tqts

Tinubu isn't to blame, Nigerians must know there's no food for lazy man - Remi Tinubu

It is not a laughing a matter.... It is glaring that Tinubu is indeed evil and should be rejected by all well meaning Nigerians.... When all is said and done Tinubu and his callous supporters will be disgraced out of office....

Mindlog:
Gobsmacked.

If he truly said all this back in 2012 then it means Tinubu knows exactly what he doing to destroy Nigeria's economy.... he is heartless, malicious and deceptive.... For knowing the right approach in handling the situation but choosing to sabotage and destroy Nigeria's economy the way he removed subsidy and implementing other harsh policies shows he has no conscience.... It does not matter whether he is a western foreign powers USA/France puppet or an IMF/World bank agent, Tinubu will not escape the consequences of what he has done to Nigerians....

No reasonable person will have confidence in this government in mitigating the risks based on the irresponsible way Tinubu as minister of petroleum handled the fuel subsidy remov
al process.... Where is the fund saved from subsidy removal?

The economic crisis Nigeria is going through could've been averted if NNPC had kept to it's word of reviving Nigeria's national refineries over the years.... Dangote till now has refused to make public his refinery's pricing input in the new petrol cost price of N898 per litre published by NNPCL.... I will once again reiterate that allowing "market forces" to dictate fuel price in a fragile economy with a population that is characterized majorly of poor people with low purchasing power, high food prices, high transportation fees and a monopolistic oil refining market with Dangote Refinery as a major player is a recipe for disaster. What this means is that fuel price can increase to N5000 per litre at anytime with no measures put in place to cushion it's effects on the economy.

Nigeria's fragile economy can not withstand these spikes in energy costs, it cannot continue to absorb the incessant increases in fuel price due to "market forces" without a resultant increase in unemployment as more businesses shutdown, prices of food continue to rise and insecurity spreads. If Tinubu cares about Nigerians which I doubt, the government needs to go back to the drawing board and reinstate a temporary subsidy program that will address this volatility in the price of fuel with the government stabilizing "market forces" price differentials through subsidy until PH refinery comes on board by December....

Nigerians need to take responsibility for the sorry state of the economy and massively protest the anti-people policies implemented by this callous government. If Tinubu and his government can not provide solutions to the incessant fuel price increases and the terrible state of Nigeria's economy, let him resign or be impeached to save the nation from impending doom.....

This bot with fake likes.... Not surpised you called it "political appreciation".... shameless bot....

trutharena:
You can call it political sycophancy, we call it political appreciation over here.

Tinubu is the petroleum minister.....

tundegan:
This group don dey use Tinubu name for their own bad governance narrative.

Tinubu is not your problem, so stop making him your problem.

Demands for immediate reversal....

Calls for continued mass protests against anti-poor policies....


The #EndBadGovernance Movement, Lagos State, has stated that President Bola Tinubu is not finished punishing the people, describing the recent petrol price hike as provocative and a further slap in the face of poor and struggling Nigerians.

The movement remarked in a statement on Thursday, while reacting to reports that the National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has commenced full deregulation of the downstream sector by increasing petrol price to between N998 per litre in Lagos and N1,030 per litre in Abuja and other parts of the country.  

According to the statement by the Organising Committee, #Endbadgovernance Movement, Lagos State, jointly signed by the Coordinator, Hassan Taiwo, alias, “Soweto,” Osugba Blessing and Oloye Adegboyega-Adeniji, read in part:

“This latest increase is the second of such in a month, and it is bound to drive the Nigerian people, including workers, youth, artisans, traders and the mass of the people, into a worse state of starvation and hardship.

"We hereby demand an immediate and unconditional reversal of the hike, as well as the return of petrol price, electricity tariffs and food prices to pre-May 29, 2023 levels.  

“As far as we are concerned, this development is a clear indication that President Tinubu is neither prepared for dialogue nor is he ready to reduce the burden of hunger and excruciating hardship that hapless Nigerian masses have been bearing since last year when he came to power.

“To this extent, we call on the Nigerian people to rise in their millions to begin to confront this government with protests and demonstrations until the criminal hike, along with other anti-poor policies are reversed.

"Without our readiness to fight, it is crystal clear that this regime is hell-bent on driving all of us into a state of starvation. We hereby urge all pro-people civil society organisations, NGOs, youth groups, students’ unions, socialist organisations and community associations to begin to meet to discuss how to respond to this latest onslaught.

"We also call on the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to immediately call a 48-hour general strike and mass protest.

"That this increase is coming at a time when the Dangote refinery has become fully operational has exposed the lie that the government told last year to justify the policy of fuel subsidy removal. At that time, the Tinubu government said once the Dangote refinery began to produce petroleum products, the price would crash.

“Now the opposite is what we see today. This demonstrates that privatization, deregulation and other neo-liberal capitalist policies do not offer solutions to the economic crisis facing Nigeria. 

“We hereby demand reversal of the policies of privatization, deregulation and all neo-liberal and anti-poor capitalist policies. 

"We also note that the unrelenting onslaught on the Nigerian people by President Tinubu shows why the struggle to #Endbadgovernance in Nigeria must continue, and hereby urge Nigerian youth, workers and the poor masses to join the growing movement to end bad governance in Nigeria.”

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/10/latest-fuel-hike-tinubu-not-done-with-nigerians-endbadgovernance-movement/

Regarding government intervention, Agi expressed skepticism, saying, “Honestly, we no longer trust the government to mitigate these risks. In the past, we trusted that removing the fuel subsidy would lead to better allocation of resources, but little has changed.

Yes no reasonable person will have confidence in this government in mitigating the risks based on the irresponsible way Tinubu as minister of petroleum handled the fuel subsidy remov
al process.... Where is the fund saved from subsidy removal?

The economic crisis Nigeria is going through could've been averted if NNPC had kept to it's word of reviving Nigeria's national refineries over the years.... Dangote till now has refused to make public his refinery's pricing input in the new petrol cost price of N898 per litre published by NNPCL.... I will once again reiterate that allowing "market forces" to dictate fuel price in a fragile economy with a population that is characterized majorly of poor people with low purchasing power, high food prices, high transportation fees and a monopolistic oil refining market with Dangote Refinery as a major player is a recipe for disaster. What this means is that fuel price can increase to N5000 per litre at anytime with no measures put in place to cushion it's effects on the economy.

Nigeria's fragile economy can not withstand these spikes in energy costs, it cannot continue to absorb the incessant increases in fuel price due to "market forces" without a resultant increase in unemployment as more businesses shutdown, prices of food continue to rise and insecurity spreads. If Tinubu cares about Nigerians which I doubt, the government needs to go back to the drawing board and reinstate a temporary subsidy program that will address this volatility in the price of fuel with the government stabilizing "market forces" price differentials through subsidy until PH refinery comes on board by December....

Nigerians need to take responsibility for the sorry state of the economy and massively protest the anti-people policies implemented by this callous government. If Tinubu and his government can not provide solutions to the incessant fuel price increases and the terrible state of Nigeria's economy, let him resign or be impeached to save the nation from impending doom.....

You may be right. To show how rigged Nairaland's likes system has become, the bot's useless comment got a "like".... seem those behind these bots are also able to generate fake likes on comments that support their narrative to sway other readers opinion on threads....

Kukutenla:
It's a bot
Another bot tundegan is preparing to drop gibberish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po1DVxa7kM4

Minister Ohanenye takes political sycophancy to another level....

If you don't have petrol, how will you be able to carry out your duty as the Minister of Petroleum? He is not God, please help him to help you.

What a useless comment.... I wonder if some of you making comments in this platform are Nigerians or current living in Nigeria as some of these comments defy logic.....

Anither563:
If you don't have petrol, how will you be able to carry out your duty as the Minister of Petroleum? He is not God, please help him to help you.

May God bless Nigeria for ever!

It's been over 24 hours since the new pump price of over N1000 per litre was announced by NNPC. Based on the crisis and widespread panic, one would've expected Tinubu been the minister petroleum to address Nigerians on how his government plans to resolve the incessant fuel price increases but till now Tinubu has remained silent, he has continued to disregard the plight of Nigerians with no shame. Earlier today, I had outlined my views and proferred a workable solution in a previous post (Titled Fuel Price Hike: The Solution To Dangote, NNPCL And Oil Marketers Greed) in which I advocated for an emergency intervention by the government to reinstate a temporary naira based corrupt free fuel subsidy program that will enable NNPC resume it's sole buyer role to Dangote refinery with the government stabilizing "market forces" price differentials through subsidy. Even though I made this recommendation, I know the major problem is that Tinubu's incompetent government is too corrupt, clueless and heavily compromised to accept this recommendation or any other viable solution to the fuel price crisis. It is unfortunate that ever since this new price was implemented by NNPC, the only publication released by the government was to blame the PIA (Petroleum Industry Act) instead of taking responsibility and finding solution....

I've on several occasions made a call for the impeachment of Tinubu and the dissolution of this government to save Nigeria's economy because based on the dubious character of Tinubu and those running his government, he has nothing good to offer Nigerians. The "market forces" that led to the sudden increase of fuel price to over N1200 per litre today, will increase it further to N1500 per litre by December if Nigerians fold their arms and do nothing to hold the insentive government responsible.

NNPCL management need to be fired and prosecuted for sabotaging Nigeria's economy by their mismanagement and failure to revive Nigeria's national refineries over the years... Mele Kyari promised Nigerians when he assumed office in Buhari's first term that all refineries will be operational by 2019 which he failed to achieve. It is surprising that Tinubu instead of relieving him of his duty, rewarded his incompetence by extending his tenure....

Nigerians need to take responsibility for the sorry state of the economy and massively protest the anti-people policies implemented by this callous government. If Tinubu can not provide solution to the terrible state of Nigeria's economy, let him resign or be impeached to save the nation from impending doom.....

The new minimum wage agreement of N70,000 has failed as Tinubu, Dangote Refinery and NNPCL has officially increase fuel price to over N1200 per litre, why is NLC not mobilizing Nigerians for a nationwide strike protest to push for reversal in fuel price hike?

The price of fuel won't come down mainly because of Dangote refinery monopoly.... Read my post on this issue here https://www.nairaland.com/8235660/fuel-price-hike-solution-dangote

Your second paragraph does not make sense....

tundegan:
The solution is simple, let Dangote and the other oil marketers be doing their business, and let the consumers decide which one to patronize based on the price.

If everybody is doing the same thing and only one person is doing the same thing, the same thing, and only one person is doing the same thing, then that person is the one you should be asking questions about.

Simple logic.

It is not just about fuel price increase.... There are several factors at play that needs to change.... The most important among these factors is leadership.... Tinubu and his political associates looting public funds and dishing out anti-people policies are harden and unrepentant.... They can't be removed easily due their lack of shame, brazen disregard for the rule of law and accountability.... Nigerians will need more than an election to remove them....

Anither563:
Revolution for what? Just because you are not happy with the fuel price increase? Smh

Yes that's the long term solution....

Anither563:
The solution is for more refineries to come on board.

That is not the solution because Dangote has the upper hand due to the fact that he is refining locally while marketers are importing the product.... Dangote will still control fuel price and overtime put the marketers importing the product out of business....

tundegan:
The solution is simple, let Dangote and the other oil marketers be doing their business, and let the consumers decide which one to patronize based on the price.

If everybody is doing the same thing and only one person is doing the same thing, the same thing, and only one person is doing the same thing, then that person is the one you should be asking questions about.

Simple logic.

Like many other users in this platform, I was surprised by the news of NNPC increasing fuel price again to over N1000 per litre even after promising a downward review of it's pricing template as a result of the new deal with Dangote refinery.

Reading several publications on the issues which includes

1. Naira for crude oil deal between Dangote and NNPCL with Dangote pushing for an exclusivity status (Monopoly) in the provision of petroleum products within the Nigerian market.

2. Oil marketers (IPMAN) agitation for a full implementation of the deregulation policy within the petroleum market to grant them direct access to buy from Dangote and sell at whatever price they want (Maximize Profit).

3. Nigerians bearing the burden of a harsh economy due to greedy market forces (Dangote and NNPC's greed) as a result of the astronomical increases in the price of fuel, diesel and other petroleum products.


In this post, I will try to profer a workable solution to the crisis that will benefit everyone especially the interest of Nigerians.

When Dangote launched his refinery last year, many Nigerians were excited over the prospects and advantages that refining locally will bring. Many Nigerians were happy because apart from jobs the refinery will create, it was believed that it will crash the price of fuel and also strengthen the naira. For me, I unfortunately did not share in this sentiment. This is because based on the monopolistic tendencies of Dangote and how he operated in the cement market I knew that the dream of his refinery offering a cheaper fuel price was a mirage. As long as Dangote refinery remains the only big player in the Nigerian oil refining market and government does not intervene, fuel price may continue to increase because Dangote will milk his refinery's monopolistic status for all it's worth. It will not be surprising that before December this year fuel price will be over N1500 per litre.

Dangote Refinery's monopolistic status need to be erased, this can only be achieved when other big players like the PH over 200,000 bpd and warri over 120,000-bpd refineries are operational to compete with Dangote refinery. This is the only way that can guarantee a stable, competitive and affordable pricing of petroleum products within Nigeria.

Short Term Solution
Based on the points I made earlier, allowing "market forces" to dictate fuel price in a monopoly (Dangote Refinery) is a receipe for disaster as it means that fuel price can increase to N5000 per litre at anytime. When NNPC announced the new fuel price yesterday, one reason it gave that surpriced me was that the increase was inevitable because it bought the comodity at N898 per litre from Dangote refinery. I am still surprised because it is silly for Dangote to sale at N898 per litre for a locally refined fuel. If truly this is what NNPC bought it, can Dangote make public the report on how much it costs his refinery to produce a litre of fuel? It is obvious we won't be seeing such reports anytime soon....

Fuel is central to Nigeria's economy, apart from transportation, small businesses rely on fuel to power generators and other productive activities. If the government decides to allow the shady pricing template between Dangote and NNPC to continue in the name of market forces without providing any form of subsidy then Nigeria's economy will get worse as this volatility in pricing will lead to unpredictable devastation..... To safeguard against this and stabilize petrol price, the government need to as a matter of urgency setup a temporary arrangement where NNPCL returns as the sole buyer from Dangote refinery with subsidy program put in place to mitigate against "Dangote's premium pricing".... This temporary arrangement should end when PH refinery (rumored to begin full operation in December) comes on board....

Long Term Solution
Nigerians need to pressurize the national assembly as a matter of urgency to get Tinubu and NNPCL to fast track the operational start dates of the national refineries. Personally, I will prefer that these refineries are sold today to serious private local businesses that are hungry to invest in the petroleum sector as NNPC management has proven severally to be highly corrupt and incompetent in maintaining these refineries. Let the national assembly push for the sale of these refineries in a transparent way to neutral third parties (Not a sale to Dangote proxies) in a PPP arrangement.... Also a bill needs to be passed by the national assembly that will build on the current naira for crude arrangement, this bill when passed into law will mandate NNPCL and other oil producing companies to prioritize servicing local market and ensure adequate supply of crude oil in naira to local refineries operating within the country....

Once these refineries and other smaller refineries are fully operational and supported, if the government through it's petroleum ministry can implement a regulatory framework that will ensure a healthy competitive free oil refining market, the government will not only solve the issue of fuel scarcity but will save huge on forex and Nigerians will experience drastic drop in the prices of fuel, diesel, kerosene and other petroleum products within a short period of time....

It is better to protest now and get what you want than wait to participate in a fraudulent election by 2027 you know will be rigged with a compromised judiciary to validate the result.... @Trutharena is a bot I only made this reply to the comment because it was posted on my thread.....

trutharena:
You can vote and still protest.

No one can rescue Nigeria except Nigerians.... If only they can overcome tribal and religious sentiments....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmvjfidEqpM

I'm angry Nigerians are not protesting - Rotimi Amaechi laments massive hunger....

I agree with the video narrator on most of the issues raised especially Nigerians holding Tinubu and other politicians accountable.... I dont agree with the narrator that voting and participating in the next election will remove these evil men from power.... The INEC, other critical government agencies have been compromised and now too partisan to allow fair election to hold.... Nigeria is ripe for a revolution....

Yes you seem to possess deep knowledge regarding Indonesia's economy.... that's nice.... @IbeOkehie is just not getting the point been made here. It will be interesting to read one of his long free market economy epistles once again as a rebuttal to your comment....

BigIyanga:
U dey mind people who discovered internet thru Google . Indonesia was feeding Naija in late 80s and 1990s. Indomie noodles were made in Indonesia. Lahda Milk which introduced satchet milk im Naija, stole a lot of market share from peak. Manufactured in Indonesia. There was another popular cooking oil- made from palm oil .. which dominated naija FMCG space.
In fact, Indonesia was making aero plane and car psrts in 80s and 90s when Suharto was their presideng,

Absolute or relative closure of the disparity is not what really matters.... What should concern everyone is the devastating effects like skyrocketting prices of goods in market, manufacturing business shutdowns and massive job losses caused by this currency floatation policy....

CodeTemplarr:
Closing it to what extent? Absolute or relative closure of the disparity?

@BigIyanga don't mind @IbeOkehie as he is too fascinated by his free market economy dreams to see reason in your submissions.... I don't need to be an economist to understand that Cardoso's currency floatation policy is a bad idea because Nigeria lacks the enabling environment for such policies to work.... I do agree with you that critical infrastructures like electricity, transportation and security are key, fast tracking the development of Nigeria's critical infrastructures is only possible when deliberate efforts are made to eradicate corruption and looting of public funds within the government..... As long as these issues are not addressed, no monetary or economic policy can fix Nigeria's economy

BigIyanga:
You’re bereft of how things work. I have followed Indonesia economy and politics since 1990s. I was glued to TV when Suharto, their military president was deposed by protesters. I started following Indonesia when there no Google. We no be mates
1990.. Indomie Noodles ,Eva soap and some other FMG were produced in Indonesia and sold in Naija market. It was a major manufacturer for automotive parts, electronics, Rubber etc.. they all had nothing to with floating of their currency but by investing in public infrastructure like power, roads , security et
Indonesia has over 17,000 islands.. it has well connected road- rail-.water-air transports systems. It has close to 700 airports with 34 intl airports. Ruppiah flotation didnt those things…
You be wrong student of history

Why didn't the government go after those "powerful" bankers and politicians hoarding dollars and engaging in round tripping.....? I believe you know the reason why....

PARADIZEPRIEST:
CARDOSO IS RIGHT. DUAL RIGHTS WAS SIPHONING NAIJA DOLLARS BY UNPATRIOTIC CONSCIENCELESS POLITICIANS WHO HOARD THE DOLLARS TO HEADGE FOR DEVALUATION OF NAIRA TO INCREASE THERE EVIL RICHES

I am not an economist, we can continue to massage your hypothesis, play around with economic theories and comparative analysis but the bottom line is that when goods are outrageously expensive and the purchasing power of majority of the people (Nigerians) is low, the economy, commercial activities and trade will be affected negatively. Floating the naira without a condusive environment for production and manufacturing to thrive is a waste of time and a recipe for disaster.... I understand your point regarding the long term benefit of a totally free economy without government interference but we must learn to crawl before we can walk, you don't build a free market over night without a solid foundation, massive corruption and systemic looting within federal government MDAs, stable electricity supply, high rate of insecurity and good transportation network (Roads, Rail...) are issues that must be thoroughly addressed before you can implement an all encompassing reform such as the floating of the Naira. This is why Tinubu and Cardoso need to eat the humble pie and accept the fact that their currency floatation policy has failed, it is not helping the economy but making it worse. I don't expect much from this APC government because it is run by selfish corrupt and incompetent people starting with the president, just as you said they are not ready to let the people to be free.... In my opinion, the way forward for a serious government will be to immediately reverse the failed currency floatation policy and peg the naira to N400 to $1 to stabilize the economy to stop ongoing massive job losses and shut down of manufacturing businesses that rely on FX, work with Dangote refinery within 1 month to crash the price of petroleum products particularly fuel to N500 per litre, fix one national refinery (PH Refinery) to augment and compete with Dangote refinery within 3 months to further crash fuel price, declare state of emergency on electricity by breaking up AEDC, BEDC et al to fully deregulate both power generation and power distribution sectors to allow easy entry for investors to come in and compete with existing power companies (this new power deregulation policy can be fine tuned and fast tracked by a serious national assembly), finally sack and replace all incompetent security chiefs, deploy the nation's full military might to combat insecurity all over the country by declaring war on all terrorists, herdsmen and criminals killing Nigerians with a mandate to the newly appointed generals to flush them out within a month. All these can be done to improve Nigeria's situation if we have the right people in government but unfortunately we don't.... The best I can hope for now is for Cardoso and his boss to reverse the policies killing Nigerians.... As for implementing other points I raised, we may have to wait till they are removed from power..... Nigerians need to eat and be alive first before your "classical neo-liberal, free market and capitalist political-economy"

IbeOkehie:
No dodge.

1) Mains electricity supply is low and unstable because the entire sector is controlled, dominated and majorly owned by government. The Germans have been trying to help since around 2016, to no avail. Because the government doesn't want a free market system.

2) Roads - do you know its ILLEGAL to export granite from Nigeria since the 1970's? The reason given when the law was made is that Nigeria needs all its granite to build roads, which are badly needed for development. Roads are owned by government.

3) Railways - Where is Oga Gerrard? The Chinese have helped Nigeria to build a new rail network. ALL railways in Nigeria are owned by government and here's what's happening with it -

https://nairametrics.com/2024/09/29/fg-orders-probe-into-ticket-racketeering-allegations-on-abuja-kaduna-rail-route/
https://hallmarknews.com/massive-corruption-rocks-railways-ticketing-system/
https://businessday.ng/transport/article/nigeria-rail-stutters-on-passenger-decline-rising-dollar-debt/

Basically, the ONLY WAY to make Nigeria productive and developed is to adopt a classical neo-liberal, free market and capitalist political-economy. Note the POLITICAL. Because the ingredients of a highly developed nation are KNOWN, it's no longer a secret. They are ECONOMIC-POLITICAL factors as follows -

*demographic homogeneity,
*democracy,
*free markets and
*property rights.

The more of these FOUR factors are present in a country, the more LIKELY it is to be highly developed and prosperous.

For example, Nigeria could CREATE more homogeneity by creating TRIBAL BASED states and giving each a HIGH DEGREE OF AUTONOMY.

Nigeria could bestow PROPERTY RIGHTS by repealing the Land Use Act and give lands back to the people.

Nigeria could ABOLISH the Central Bank and adopt bitcoin as official currency, thus eliminating INFLATION.

Here's a convo between Oga Gerrard and myself that summarizes what I've outlined above.

https://www.nairaland.com/8182619/cant-believe-got-whole-324k/4#131474779

That's it. The problem of Nigeria is NOT corruption, poor infrastructure, low IQ, Western or White Imperialism or anything. People say Western Sanctions have hurt the Zimbabwean economy, true but...Nigeria is NOT under ANY sanctions and yet it's the Poverty Capital of the World.

Nor will Germany, China, Aliens from Pluto or Eskimoes or Singapore ever help Nigeria develop. The ONLY way for Nigeria to develop is to give its people FREEDOM, political & economic freedom. That's all. But we know Black Africans will NEVER allow their own people to be free. I mean these are the tribes that sold their own brethren into slavery. That about says it all.

Good Luck to Nigeria.

Yes it is a good analysis but I do think Kenneth is not totally wrong in his assertions too.... A true leader should be able to stand for his people against all odds....

Hadone:
Well analyzed

Watch Kenneth's interview below....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HulHSAfat88&pp=ygUPa2VubmV0aCBva29ua3dv

Watch the analysis below....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm0QcejVyoc

Peter Obi slammed by Ken Okonkwo again not to contest in 2027 since he can't defend votes....