…..Says opposition coalition doomed to fail, cites irreconcilable ambitions
….Damagum laughs off defectors: Atiku, others will soon crawl back to PDP
Eshiorameh Sebastian and John Adamu in Abuja
The Presidency has framed the emergent ADC opposition platform as essentially regrouping of discontented former APC elements who have lost their political footing within the ruling party.
This even as it also explained why the newly formed opposition coalition, which seeks to unseat President Tinubu in 2027, is doomed to collapse.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, in a post on his social media handles on Thursday, urged Nigerians to disregard what it called a deceptive opposition narrative, insisting that the coalition was bound to collapse due to internal contradictions.
The statement came barely 24 hours after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, alongside other prominent opposition figures, announced a major political realignment under the ADC, positioning it as a formidable alternative to the ruling APC.
The coalition, which includes former APC chieftains such as Rotimi Amaechi, Nasir El-rufai, Abubakar Malami, and Rauf Aregbesola, has been marketed as a united front against the Tinubu administration.
However, the Presidency has dismissed the group as a gathering of “desperados” driven by personal ambitions rather than national interest.
“Some members of the hijacked ADC, who were reported as members of the APC, left the APC years and months ago. Let the public not be deceived by the opposition’s narrative about their relevance or whether the APC will mourn their departure,” Onanuga stated.
The statement went further to name and discredit key figures in the coalition, starting with former Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi. “Rotimi Amaechi’s soul left the APC in 2022 after losing the presidential primary to President Tinubu,” the Presidency declared, suggesting that his move to the opposition was fueled by bitterness rather than principle.
Similarly, former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, was described as having severed ties with the APC long before the coalition’s formation. “Abubakar Malami has never hidden his estrangement from the APC since Tinubu assumed leadership and since he lost the governorship bid in Kebbi,” the statement read.
The Presidency also took aim at former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika, who is currently facing corruption charges. “Hadi Sirika, now with the ADC, is facing trial for contract splitting and other allegations,” the statement noted, implying that his involvement in the coalition was an attempt to evade accountability.
Former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola was similarly dismissed as a renegade who had been expelled from the APC. “The renegade Rauf Aregbesola committed anti party in the last Osun election and was expelled as an unfit APC member,” the statement asserted.
The Presidency also slammed other notable figures in the coalition, including Kashim Imam and former APC National Chairman Chief John Odigie Oyegun. “Kashim Imam abandoned the APC after failing to secure the vice presidential ticket in 2022. Chief Oyegun, a former party chairman, also lost interest in the APC and has been a foundational member of this coalition since its inception,” the statement said.
In a direct appeal to Nigerians, the Presidency warned against trusting a coalition it described as lacking ideological coherence. “My advice to Nigerians: Keep your eyes wide open. A political party with no clear agenda or ideology—whose members are united only by their hatred for President Tinubu—cannot be good for our country. It will only set us back by decades,” Onanuga stated.
The statement further accused the coalition members of being power hungry individuals desperate to reclaim political relevance. “These politicians are desperados, hungry for power, not for the benefit of Nigerians but for themselves. They want power at all costs because they cannot endure another four years in the political wilderness or be banished to political winter and irrelevance,” it said.
The Presidency concluded by predicting the inevitable collapse of the coalition, citing conflicting ambitions among its members. “What is certain is that the group will soon unravel due to their irreconcilable personal and political ambitions,” the statement declared.
Meanwhile, PDP Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum has predicted the imminent return of defectors who joined the opposition coalition, declaring that no party is as accommodating as the PDP.
However, he issued a stern warning of disciplinary measures against members engaged in anti party activities.
Addressing a press briefing in Abuja, Damagum said, “To those that are contemplating, they should not, they have no place and there’s nowhere that will be as our party. But if they feel there are, I will wish them good luck. But I know they will run back.
“I want to re-emphasise that if you are a member of the People’s Democratic Party, we are drawing a line for those who go to demarket the party. We are watching them and we will take appropriate actions at the right time.”
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