The Presidency has launched a blistering rebuttal against Nigeria’s opposition figures, dismissing their latest outburst as the desperate theatrics of a failed political camp clutching at straws in an empty hunt for scapegoats.
In a strongly worded State House press release on Sunday, the Federal Government described the opposition—made up of remnants of a “dying party” and failed political aspirants—as an assemblage long on noise but short on ideas, vision and credibility.
According to the statement, the group’s latest gathering, staged as a supposed show of strength, amounted to nothing more than recycled rhetoric aimed at confusing the polity and scoring cheap political points.
“They blow hot air, seek scapegoats for their failure and move to confuse the polity in a desperate search for cheap political gains,” the Presidency declared.
At the centre of the opposition’s grievance is the steady flow of prominent politicians defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The group claims this trend threatens Nigeria’s multi-party democracy. The Presidency, however, dismissed the allegation as hollow and misleading.
“Our Constitution guarantees freedom of association,” the statement stressed, noting that no individual has been coerced into joining the APC. Rather, politicians are gravitating towards the ruling party, it said, because of the “noticeable gains” of President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda.
Turning the argument on its head, the Presidency asked a pointed question: when politicians moved en masse to the then-dominant Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) between 2000 and 2015, was Nigeria’s democracy in danger?
On the contentious issue of anti-corruption investigations, the Presidency addressed claims that President Tinubu is “weaponising” the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against political opponents. It described the accusation as both ironic and revealing.
While clarifying that the Presidency does not speak for the EFCC, the statement reaffirmed that the commission is an independent institution empowered by law to investigate and prosecute financial crimes without fear or favour.
“The EFCC’s mandate applies to everyone, regardless of political affiliation or status,” the release stated, adding that it was curious that individuals who once claimed to want to rescue Nigeria are now resisting accountability and probity.
The Presidency challenged anyone with a clear conscience to face investigations boldly, insisting that President Tinubu does not direct any anti-corruption agency on who to arrest or prosecute.
“President Tinubu has significant state issues to address rather than engage in political targeting,” the statement said, emphasising that guilt or innocence is determined by the courts—not by politics or executive influence.
It described the opposition’s claims as distractions from their lack of compelling campaign issues, especially in the face of what it termed the APC’s successes in less than three years of Tinubu’s administration.
Reinforcing the principle that no one is above the law, the Presidency warned against using political affiliation as a shield against accountability. It highlighted the EFCC’s recent role in Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list as proof of the agency’s effectiveness.
The statement also noted that some signatories to the opposition’s claims had faced EFCC investigations even before President Tinubu assumed office in 2023, while others have been linked to international money-laundering probes that landed their associates in foreign jails.
“Are they now signing statements because their chickens are coming home to roost?” the Presidency asked pointedly.
In a final warning, the Presidency urged politicians not to undermine national institutions or trivialise the fight against corruption through politicised narratives designed to evade responsibility.
“The fight against corruption is a collective responsibility,” the statement concluded, “and should not be undermined by baseless allegations and jaundiced political storytelling.”
Press Release Signed By Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President
(Information & Strategy)
