Presidency roars: ADC Coalition a Club of Political Desperados

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Presidency has dismissed the takeover of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) by a coalition of opposition figures, branding the move a desperate and hollow attempt by politically irrelevant individuals to regain power under the guise of rescuing Nigeria.

In a strongly worded statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the public should not be misled into believing that the coalition includes active members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that many of them had long departed from the party, both in spirit and in practice.

“Some members of the hijacked ADC, who were reported as members of the APC, left the APC years and months ago,” Onanuga wrote.

“Let the public not be deceived by the opposition’s narrative about their relevance or whether the APC will mourn their departure.”

Onanuga accused the group of being united solely by their disdain for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, warning that their lack of ideological clarity and coherent agenda makes them unfit to lead a nation as complex as Nigeria.

He described the coalition as a group of political desperados hungry for power, not for the good of Nigerians, but to save themselves from fading into political irrelevance.

“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,” he declared.

He also attacked the credibility and relevance of key figures in the coalition, claiming many of them had fallen out with the APC long before the coalition’s formation.

He said that former Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi effectively withdrew from the APC after losing the 2022 presidential primary to Tinubu, and that former Attorney General Abubakar Malami had distanced himself from the party after failing in his Kebbi State governorship bid.

He pointed out that former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika, now aligned with the ADC, is currently facing trial over contract-related allegations, while ex-Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola was expelled for engaging in anti-party activities during the Osun State election.

The Presidency further dismissed the involvement of Chief John Odigie Oyegun and Kashim Imam, describing them as “disgruntled politicians posturing as would-be saviours of Nigeria.”

Onanuga noted that Imam abandoned the APC after failing to secure the party’s vice-presidential ticket, and that Chief Oyegun, a former APC National Chairman, has long lost interest in the party and was among those who helped form the current opposition alliance.

“These politicians are desperados, hungry for power, not for the benefit of Nigerians but for themselves,” Onanuga added.

“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.”

He predicted that the coalition would eventually collapse under the weight of its own contradictions.

“What is certain is that the group will soon unravel due to their irreconcilable personal ambitions,” he concluded.

The Presidency maintained that President Tinubu and the APC remain firmly focused on delivering governance under the Renewed Hope Agenda and warned Nigerians not to be distracted by those seeking shortcuts back to power through deceptive political manoeuvres.