The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said its primary objective is to remove President Bola Tinubu from power, describing it as a necessary step to rescue Nigeria from what it termed an unprecedented governance crisis.
The party’s spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the assertion on Friday during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.
“It’s solely to get Tinubu out of power. That is the agenda and not about the interests of Nigeria. There is no scenario where he remains in power, and we are able to save this country,” Abdullahi said.
He claimed that Nigeria has been hijacked, likening the prevailing governance approach to banditry.
“When people say you can smash it, grab it, and run with it, that is the language of banditry,” he said, adding that such attitudes now reflect the mindset of the Tinubu administration.
The former minister also raised concerns over what he described as legislative manipulation, particularly regarding tax laws, calling recent developments unprecedented in Nigeria’s democratic history.
Abdullahi accused the Federal Government of forging a law that had already been duly passed by the National Assembly.
“A government that can forge a duly passed law; what do you call that?” he asked.
On reports that the Federal Government paid $9 million to foreign lobbyists in the United States to improve Nigeria’s image before American political leaders, including President Donald Trump, Abdullahi said the process lacked transparency and legal clarity.
“Is it a bad thing to lobby? No, it’s not a bad thing. But how was this contract awarded? How was the money paid? Who paid the money? What budget line was it taken from? How was the money transferred out of Nigeria?” he queried.
He argued that the expenditure reflected misplaced priorities, insisting that the funds would have been better deployed to address internal security challenges.
“If you invest nine million dollars in internal security, you will see results. You won’t have to convince the president of another country that your country is safe,” he said.
Abdullahi accused the government of being more concerned about its international image than the daily security challenges confronting Nigerians.
“They don’t care whether Nigerians are still dying. They don’t care that people are still being killed. They just want to look good before Americans,” he said.
The ADC spokesperson also expressed concern over a recently signed medical memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Nigeria and the United States, reportedly executed around December 19.
According to him, the agreement grants the US significant control over how funds are spent, including determining beneficiary regions, despite Nigeria contributing more financially.
“No Nigerians have seen the details of this MOU,” Abdullahi said, describing the terms as “shocking” and raising questions about national sovereignty and accountability.
