Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, has said former Minister of Interior and ADC National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, has no moral authority to criticise the Tinubu administration, describing his remarks at the ADC national convention as unjustified attacks from a failed public office holder.

Onanuga made the statement on X on Tuesday while reacting to Aregbesola’s speech at the African Democratic Congress (ADC) convention in Abuja, where the former minister accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of lacking vision and described its “Renewed Hope” agenda as a “scam.”

Aregbesola had also criticised the government’s economic performance, citing the depreciation of the naira from about N700 to the dollar in 2023 to around N1,400, as well as rising fuel prices and worsening electricity supply across the country.

“The government’s claim that the recent reduction in the exchange rate shows its mastery of economics is false,” he said.

“Before this administration, the cost of a litre of fuel was between N185 and N238, depending on which part of the country you were in; now it is about N1,400 per litre and still rising. The cost of transportation is now so prohibitive that it has become unrealistic for some workers to go to work,” he added.

He further called for President Bola Tinubu to step down, arguing that the administration had failed to meet its promises to Nigerians.

“Ordinarily, having made such a promise and failed woefully, an honest president should simply step down and not seek reelection.”

Responding, Onanuga dismissed Aregbesola’s comments and said he had no moral ground to attack the government, given his records as both governor of Osun State and Minister of Interior under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Unfortunately, Aregbesola did not undertake any honest self-reflection on his own record in public office — as governor or as Minister of Interior,” Onanuga wrote.

He alleged that Aregbesola’s tenure as Osun governor was marked by unpaid salaries, hardship for civil servants, and suffering among pensioners, while also blaming him for administrative failures during his time at the Interior Ministry.

“It is to Aregbesola’s infamy that Osun became known as a state receiving negative federal allocation and paying just 20 to 30 per cent of normal salaries. It was worse for pensioners in Aregbesola’s Osun State. Many pensioners who relied on their meagre monthly payments died because they were not paid at all,” Onanuga said.

Onanuga further cited security lapses in correctional facilities and challenges in passport issuance during Aregbesola’s tenure, arguing that his record disqualifies him from criticising others.

“During his four years, obtaining a Nigerian passport became a nightmarish process, and there were 15 major attacks on correctional facilities in Jos, Abolongo, Imo, Kabba, and Okitipupa, resulting in over 4,000 inmates escaping to join criminal elements.

“For someone who failed so woefully to secure our correctional centres and uphold his duties between 2019 and 2023, it is ironic that Aregbesola now seeks to lecture others on insecurity. Maybe he thinks the entire Nigerian population suffers from amnesia,” Onanuga wrote.

He maintained that the Tinubu administration had made progress in economic reforms and governance, while acknowledging that some policies had temporary negative impacts on citizens.

“The Tinubu administration has never shied away from acknowledging that policy reforms have brought unintended consequences, impacting the most vulnerable. However, over the last three years, the government has introduced numerous relief measures to mitigate these effects,” he said.

Onanuga concluded by defending the “Renewed Hope” agenda, insisting it is not a failure and warning against what he described as politically motivated attacks from opposition figures.

“No, Rauf, the Renewed Hope Agenda is not a scam. The real scammers are the politicians gathered inside the SPV called ADC,” he wrote. (The Sun)