APC chieftain to Atiku, Obi, others: Your anti-Tinubu coalition will fail

Hon. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, has dismissed the ongoing efforts by opposition leaders to form a united front against President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections, declaring the move dead on arrival.

Oyintiloye, a former member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council, stated this on Sunday during a media interaction in Osogbo, describing the coalition as a desperate and self-serving attempt by failed politicians to reclaim relevance.

He took a swipe at prominent opposition figures, including former Vice Presidents Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, advising them not to waste their time and resources on what he termed an “already doomed project.”

“In the past seventy years, Nigeria has witnessed several coalition attempts aimed at challenging incumbent governments. But history has consistently shown that most of these alliances crumble due to lack of unity, vision, and genuine commitment to national interest,” Oyintiloye said.

He argued that the current push to form an anti-Tinubu coalition lacks ideological depth and is driven by personal ambition rather than patriotic intentions.

“To form a viable coalition, there must be strategic compromise, long-term cohesion, and selfless motives. But what we see today is a gathering of aggrieved politicians, many of whom are simply trying to revive their fading political careers,” he stated.

Describing the coalition as a club of the disgruntled, Oyintiloye said its members are united only by their hatred for President Tinubu, not by any credible alternative vision for Nigeria.

“The question Nigerians must ask these opposition leaders is: why are they truly forming this coalition? If they were in power, would they have done anything better than the president? Their desperation for power is obvious. If this government had offered them juicy appointments, many of them would be its biggest defenders today.”

According to him, President Tinubu’s political acumen and track record of defying odds, as demonstrated in the 2023 elections, show he is well-equipped to weather the storm of opposition.

“Let’s not forget, Tinubu was not in power in 2023. Forces both internal and external worked against his emergence, yet he triumphed. Now he’s in power and working to revive the economy. How realistic is it for a fractured opposition to think they can unseat him?” he asked.

Oyintiloye urged opposition leaders, especially within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to set aside their grievances and support the president’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which he said is already yielding results across key sectors of the economy.

He encouraged President Tinubu to remain focused on his developmental goals, noting that the administration’s ongoing reforms in infrastructure and the economy were gradually restoring public confidence.

“The president should ignore the noise and stay focused. His achievements in the past two years are evident, and with sustained efforts, Nigerians will see even greater progress,” Oyintiloye said.