The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned what it called a dangerous campaign of intimidation against former Interior Minister, Rauf Aregbesola, warning that the attacks amount to a betrayal of democratic values.
Aregbesola, who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to become ADC’s national secretary, has been accused by Tinubu loyalists of betraying Yoruba interests. The campaign escalated last week after thugs disrupted an ADC rally in Sagamu, Ogun State, where Aregbesola was scheduled to campaign for the party’s candidate, Solomon Osho. His associates have also alleged a plot to assassinate him.
In a statement on Monday, ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the targeting of Aregbesola as “sheer perfidy.”
“It is incredible to see the zeal with which some President BAT supporters are trying to mobilise Yoruba people against Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for merely exercising his democratic rights,” Abdullahi said. “This is sheer perfidy and must be condemned.”
Abdullahi argued that political dissent should never be equated with betrayal of ethnicity, recalling how Bola Tinubu himself once opposed President Olusegun Obasanjo without being branded a traitor.
“No one accused Tinubu of betraying Yoruba interests when he openly challenged Obasanjo and turned Lagos into an alternative power centre. Yet today, efforts are being made to demonise Aregbesola simply for standing with the opposition,” he noted.
The ADC spokesman questioned whether the president endorsed the hostility.
“We doubt 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.
He accused Tinubu’s allies of being so insecure about Aregbesola’s enduring influence that they are willing to inflame ethnic tensions.
“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 personal loyalty trumps national interest. This is wrong and dangerous,” Abdullahi warned.
The ADC insisted that Aregbesola can defend himself politically but said the smear campaign endangers the country’s democracy.
“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,” Abdullahi concluded.
Leave a Reply