Rauf Aregbesola, national secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has criticised President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda, calling it a "classic scam" during the party's National Convention in Abuja on Tuesday. In response, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed the ADC as a gathering of "desperate politicians" lacking a national agenda. Onanuga, in a post on X, referred to the ADC as an "SPV" and accused Aregbesola of echoing opposition narratives on the economy and security. He challenged Aregbesola's credibility, citing his tenure as governor of Osun State between 2010 and 2018, during which civil servants reportedly went unpaid for months and pensioners suffered. Onanuga also pointed to Aregbesola's time as Minister of Interior from 2019 to 2023, highlighting difficulties in obtaining Nigerian passports and multiple jailbreaks, including the 2022 Kuje prison attack. He described it as ironic for Aregbesola to comment on insecurity given these failures. Onanuga defended the Tinubu administration, acknowledging unintended consequences of economic reforms but noting relief measures like cash transfers and small business support. He cited rising GDP, stronger foreign reserves, and a bullish stock market as signs of improving economic confidence. "The Renewed Hope Agenda is not a scam," Onanuga stated.
Rauf Aregbesola's transformation from a former minister under the APC to a vocal critic within the ADC exposes a deepening fracture among political elites who once shared power. His denunciation of the Renewed Hope Agenda as a "classic scam" lands with less force given that he was part of the administration implementing similar policies until 2023. Bayo Onanuga's sharp rebuttal does more than defend the presidency—it weaponises Aregbesola's own record, particularly the unpaid salaries in Osun and the Kuje prison breach, to undermine his moral standing.
The exchange is less about policy and more about political survival. As economic reforms bite, figures like Aregbesola seek distance from the APC, while loyalists like Onanuga aim to paint dissenters as hypocrites with failed track records. The focus on Aregbesola's past is strategic: it shifts attention from current hardships to the credibility of the critic. With inflation still affecting food and transport, the administration's citation of GDP growth and stock market gains rings hollow to many who see no relief in daily life.
Ordinary Nigerians, especially civil servants, pensioners, and small business owners, are left navigating both economic strain and political theatre. Those who suffered under past governance failures are now expected to endure present ones, with little assurance that either side offers real solutions. The war of words does nothing to shorten queues at passport offices or refill empty pension accounts.
This is not an isolated clash but part of a recurring cycle where former allies turn into fiercest opponents, each wielding past failures as political cudgels.
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