Bayo Onanuga Tells Why Nigerians Should Not Take Leaders Of New ADC Seriously
Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, has warned Nigerians to be wary of leaders of the new African Democratic Congress (ADC) who were formerly members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The presidential aide made the remarks in a post accross his social media handles on Thursday, July 3, 2025.
Among the new opposition party leaders, Mr Onanuga insisted Nigerians should not take seriously are Rotimi Amaechi, Rauf Aregbesola, Hadi Sirika and Abubakar Malami.
Interestingly, they all served as ministers in the government of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
His reaction came to be hours after the official launch of the new ADC where former Senate President, David Mark and ex- governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola were unveiled as interim National Chairman and National Secretary respectively.
Describing ADC as “a political party with no clear agenda or ideology” Onanuga urged Nigerians to be vigilant.
He said: “My advice to Nigerians: Keep your eyes wide open. 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.
“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”
His reaction reads in full
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.
– Rotimi Amaechi’s soul left the APC in 2022 after losing the presidential primary to President Tinubu.
– Abubakar Malami, the former Attorney-General, has never hidden his estrangement from the APC since Tinubu assumed leadership and since he lost the governorship bid in Kebbi.
– Hadi Sirika, now with the ADC, is facing trial for contract splitting and other allegations.
-The renegade Rauf Aregbesola committed anti-party in the last Osun election and was expelled as an unfit APC member
Kashim Imam and the octogenarian Chief John Odigie Oyegun are among the disgruntled politicians posturing as would-be saviours of Nigeria. Imam abandoned the APC after failing to secure the vice-presidential ticket in 2022. Chief Oyegun, a former party chairman, also lost interest in the APC and has been a foundational member of this coalition since its inception
My advice to Nigerians: Keep your eyes wide open. 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.
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 and political ambitions.
