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Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu has come down hard on former governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola over calls for Tinubu to resign.
At the African Democratic Congress (ADC) national convention held in Abuja on Tuesday, Aregbesola said:
“Normally, after making a promise like that and having bad luck, an honest president should step down and not seek re-election.
“Instead, what we are witnessing is the most desperate attempt by a candidate in Nigeria’s electoral history to cling to power at any cost, even if it means toppling the entire democratic system. We have a duty to stop these fraudsters from clinging to power,” lamented the former Tinubu ally.
In reaction, Onanuga in a post on his X handle on Tuesday evening stated that Aregbesola failed as governor and later as interior minister.
In a post titled: “No, Rauf. The real fraudster is a politician within the SPV called ADC”, Onanuga recounted what he called Aregbesola’s failures as governor and minister.
He wrote: “My attention was drawn to Rauf Aregbesola’s attacks on the Tinubu government at today’s illegal ADC election convention—a party comprised of desperate people and power mongers who, to date, have not articulated a credible plan for Nigeria. At the event, Aregbesola reportedly called on his former boss, mentor and benefactor to resign, parroted the opposition’s misleading narrative on the economy and orchestrated reports of terrorist attacks in parts of the country.
“Unfortunately, Aregbesola has not done any honest self-reflection on his track record in public office—as governor or as Minister of Home Affairs. His eight years as governor of Osun State were marked by unmitigated hardship for the people. Under his half-baked socialist policies, civil servants were not paid for months, and those who were paid received only a fraction of their salaries. It is because of Aregbesola’s infamy that Osun is known as a state that receives negative federal allocations and only pays 20 to 30 percent of salaries. normal. Worse is what happened to pensioners in Osun State in Aregbesola Many pensioners who depended on meager monthly payments died because they were not paid at all.
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“This is the same man who now dares to attack the Tinubu administration, even though his tenure in Osun left a legacy of unpaid salaries, financial recklessness, abandoned projects and misguided policies that brought the state to ruin. His successor, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, worked hard to clean up much of the mess left behind, and Governor Adeleke is still facing the consequences.
“Aregbesola’s second attack on President Tinubu was equally hypocritical. As Minister of Home Affairs under President Muhammadu Buhari, his tenure saw the highest number of prison breaks in Nigerian history—including an escape from the notorious Kuje Prison in Abuja. During his four years in office, obtaining a Nigerian passport became a notoriously ugly process, and there were 15 major attacks on correctional facilities in Jos, Abolongo, Imo, Kabba, and Okitipupa, resulting in more than 4,000 prisoners escaped to join criminal elements.
“For someone who failed to secure our correctional centers and carry out his duties between 2019 and 2023, it is ironic that Aregbesola is now trying to lecture others about insecurity. Maybe he thinks the entire Nigerian population is suffering from amnesia.
“Politicians may indulge in cheap talk and light criticism, but Nigerians must not forget the terrible record of Rauf and his desperate colleagues. Nigerians must remain vigilant, lest power-hungry and programless individuals try to deceive them. Because they have no credible program, they are weaponizing isolated terrorist attacks, as if the problem started with this government.
“The Tinubu government has never shied away from acknowledging that policy reforms have had unintended consequences, impacting the most vulnerable groups. However, over the past three years, the government has introduced a number of relief measures to mitigate these impacts—including increasing the minimum wage by more than 100 percent, providing cash transfers to vulnerable groups, assisting small-scale businesses, and reducing inflation to less than 15 percent from the previous 25 percent at the start of the reforms, which resulted in falling food prices. The government will continue to implement policies to ease hardship and support the most vulnerable groups in society us.
“In terms of security, the Tinubu administration has supported the military, DSS and intelligence agencies. The government has invested in more equipment for the military and has sought help from foreign governments to combat the inherited scourge of terrorism and banditry.
“The Renewed Hope Program launched by the government is on the right track and has received global praise. We have seen its impact on increasing our GDP and foreign exchange reserves, making our country the center of attention of investors, and making our stock market bullish and prosperous.
“No Rauf, the New Hope Agenda is not a fraud. The real fraudsters are politicians who are members of an SPV called ADC.”
