Politics
ADC coalition driven by hatred, not ideology – Onanuga
Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga has criticised the newly unveiled opposition coalition led by the African Democratic Congress (ADC), describing it as a group held together solely by animosity toward President Bola Tinubu rather than a coherent ideology or vision for Nigeria.
Onanuga, who serves as Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, made the remarks on Thursday via a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, following the coalition’s announcement a day earlier.
The coalition, which seeks to unseat Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, includes high-profile politicians such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai, and ex-Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi. The group formally adopted the ADC as its political platform during a meeting in Abuja.
Reacting to the development, Onanuga dismissed the alliance as a desperate political arrangement lacking substance or direction.
“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,” he wrote. “It will only set us back by decades.”
He described the coalition’s members as “desperados,” accusing them of pursuing power for personal gain rather than out of concern for national progress.
“These politicians are hungry for power, not to serve Nigerians, but to rescue themselves from political irrelevance. They are afraid of spending another four years in the wilderness,” Onanuga said.
He also downplayed the significance of their defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying many of them had already left or were no longer relevant within the party.
He listed figures such as Rotimi Amaechi, former Attorney General Abubakar Malami, ex-Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika, and former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola as individuals who have either been expelled or distanced themselves from the APC. He also mentioned Kashim Imam and former APC national chairman John Odigie Oyegun as politicians with waning influence now seeking political revival.
“Let the public not be deceived by the opposition’s narrative about their relevance or whether the APC will mourn their departure,” Onanuga added.
He predicted that the coalition would eventually collapse under the weight of its members’ conflicting ambitions.
“What is certain is that the group will soon unravel due to their irreconcilable personal interests,” he concluded.
