Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has strongly criticised the recently formed opposition coalition spearheaded by the African Democratic Congress (ADC), describing it as lacking ideology and driven solely by animosity towards the president.
The coalition, unveiled on Wednesday, features prominent political figures including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai. The group has positioned the ADC as a unifying platform to challenge President Tinubu’s administration in the 2027 general elections.
In a statement shared via his official X handle on Thursday, Onanuga dismissed the coalition as a gathering of political opportunists, many of whom he claimed had either left or been expelled from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“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,” he said.
He further listed names including Rotimi Amaechi, Abubakar Malami, Hadi Sirika, Rauf Aregbesola, Kashim Imam, and former APC national chairman John Odigie Oyegun as individuals who have either severed ties with the APC or are pursuing personal political interests.
Onanuga urged Nigerians to be wary of the group, warning that it poses a threat to national progress.
“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 stated.
“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.
“What is certain is that the group will soon unravel due to their irreconcilable personal ambitions,” he concluded.
The statement comes amid growing political realignments ahead of the 2027 elections, with analysts closely watching how the coalition’s activities may shape the political landscape.
