The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly criticised what it described as a coordinated campaign of intimidation against its National Secretary and former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.
In a statement issued on Monday by the party’s spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said it was “incredible to see the zeal with which some President BAT supporters are trying to mobilise the Yoruba and South West people against Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for merely exercising his democratic rights and choosing to stand with the Nigerian people. This is sheer perfidy and should be condemned.”
Aregbesola recently defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the ADC, where he now holds the position of national secretary.
The party linked the campaign against him to the August 14 disruption of its rally in Sagamu, Ogun State, where Aregbesola was scheduled to lead the campaign for House of Representatives bye-election candidate, Solomon Osho.
His supporters have also alleged a plot to eliminate him.
Recalling political history, Abdullahi noted, “Nigerians, in an unprecedented act of political consensus, thought that the best way to heal the country and strengthen national unity was to support a Yoruba man to become President. Nigerians overwhelmingly voted for President Obasanjo.”
He drew a comparison with Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT), saying, “No one challenged Obasanjo and his Federal Government more vociferously than BAT, who almost made Lagos State an alternative source of power—rightly so. Yet, no one accused BAT of treachery against the Yoruba race, even when he antagonised Afenifere, the Yoruba socio-cultural group.”
The ADC spokesman questioned the current efforts to demonise Aregbesola, stating, “We therefore have strong doubts that Asiwaju would approve of what is being done in his name today. Attempts to demonise Aregbesola and other Yoruba leaders in the opposition are undemocratic and disgraceful. They are also inimical to the long-term political interests of the Yoruba people. President BAT is not the South West, and the South West is not him.”
According to Abdullahi, fear of Aregbesola’s political influence is driving the campaign. He alleged, “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 tribal and personal loyalty is more important to the Yoruba than the national interest. This is wrong and dangerous.”
The party stressed that Aregbesola is capable of defending himself politically but condemned what it described as an attack on 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,” the statement added.
