Presidential aide, Bayo Onanuga, has dismissed former governors Nasir El-Rufai, Peter Obi, and Rotimi Amaechi as “political laggards and underachievers,” insisting that their records in office cannot be compared to President Bola Tinubu’s performance in just two years.
Onanuga, who is Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, made the remarks on Monday in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
His reaction followed El-Rufai’s recent interview on Channels Television where the ex-Kaduna governor claimed Tinubu has no clear path to victory in the 2027 presidential election, even with the advantages of incumbency. El-Rufai had argued that like former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, Tinubu could still lose despite having state resources, security agencies, and the electoral commission on his side.
Quoting a video of the interview, Onanuga fired back, describing El-Rufai and other opposition figures as “politically displaced and irrelevant.”
He went further to highlight what he called Tinubu’s “meaningful achievements” in two years, pointing to rising foreign reserves, a booming stock market, harmonisation of the exchange rate, and increasing revenue to states and local councils.
According to him, the President’s reforms have positioned the country “on the path of prosperity,” unlike what he described as the failures of former governors of Anambra, Rivers, and Kaduna.
Onanuga listed Tinubu’s record as including GDP growth of N103.5 trillion in two years, successive drops in inflation, balance of payment surplus, a new student loan scheme, social welfare programmes, and higher federal allocations to states.
“Yet, these power-hungry politicians want the President, who has achieved so much, to be removed, all because they have become politically displaced and irrelevant,” Onanuga declared.
This latest war of words underscores the growing political tension as opposition figures begin to weigh Tinubu’s chances in 2027.
