ADC condemns intimidation campaign against Aregbesola

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused loyalists of President Bola Tinubu of orchestrating a campaign of intimidation against former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, warning that the move poses grave danger to democracy.

Aregbesola, who recently defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to join the ADC as its national secretary, has faced mounting attacks from political opponents branding him a traitor to Yoruba interests.

In a strongly worded statement on Monday, the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the campaign as “sheer perfidy” aimed at silencing opposition.

“It is incredible to see the zeal with which some President BAT supporters are trying to mobilise the Yoruba and South West people against Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for merely exercising his democratic rights and choosing to stand with the Nigerian people. This is sheer perfidy and should be condemned,” Abdullahi said.

The statement followed the violent disruption of an ADC rally in Sagamu, Ogun State, on August 14, where Aregbesola was billed to lead the campaign for the party’s House of Representatives bye-election candidate, Solomon Osho. His loyalists also alleged on Sunday that there was a plot to eliminate him.

Abdullahi drew historical parallels, recalling that after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, Nigerians threw their weight behind a Yoruba presidency as a unifying gesture, which led to the election of Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999.

“No one accused Bola Tinubu of betraying Yoruba interests when he openly challenged Obasanjo’s administration and turned Lagos into an alternative power centre. Yet today, efforts are being made to demonise Aregbesola simply for standing with the opposition,” he argued.

The ADC spokesman questioned whether the president himself sanctioned the attacks.

“We have strong doubts that Asiwaju would approve of what is being done in his name today. President BAT is not the South West, and the South West is not him,” Abdullahi stressed.

According to him, fear of Aregbesola’s enduring influence in Yoruba politics is at the heart of the campaign.

“The impression one gets is that Tinubu’s people are so afraid of Aregbesola that they are throwing everything at him—even recruiting Sunday Igboho, a self-declared ethnic warlord, into the fight. But the narrative they are creating is that tribal and personal loyalty is more important to the Yoruba than the national interest. This is wrong and dangerous,” he said.

The party insisted that while Aregbesola is capable of defending himself politically, the attempt to brand him as a traitor threatens the country’s democratic values.

“Ogbeni Aregbesola is immensely capable of fighting his own battles. But as a party, we condemn this act of intolerance and assault on freedom. It must cease immediately,” the statement read.