President Bola Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, has dismissed the coalition by opposition politicians as a gang-up of corrupt desperados hungry for power, scheming to oust the president from office.

“These politicians are desperados, hungry for power, not for the benefit of Nigerians but for themselves. They want power at all costs because they cannot endure another four years in the political wilderness or be banished to political winter and irrelevance,” Mr Onanuga said.

Mr  Onanuga stated this on Thursday in a post on X, citing former aviation minister Hadi Sirika as an example. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Mr Sirika over corruption charges.

“Let the public not be deceived by the opposition’s narrative about their relevance or whether the APC will mourn their departure. Rotimi Amaechi’s soul left the APC in 2022 after losing the presidential primary to President Tinubu. Abubakar Malami, the former attorney general, has never hidden his estrangement from the APC since Tinubu assumed leadership and since he lost the governorship bid in Kebbi.

“Hadi Sirika, now with the ADC, is facing trial for contract splitting and other allegations. The renegade Rauf Aregbesola committed anti-party activities in the last Osun election and was expelled as an unfit APC member. Kashim Imam and the octogenarian Chief John Odigie Oyegun are among the disgruntled politicians posturing as would-be saviours of Nigeria.

“Imam abandoned the APC after failing to secure the vice-presidential ticket in 2022. Chief Oyegun, a former party chairman, also lost interest in the APC and has been a foundational member of this coalition since its inception,” he added.

The presidential spokesperson said the coalition lacked ideology, a clear agenda and was formed out of hatred for Mr Tinubu.

“My advice to Nigerians: Keep your eyes wide open. A political party with no clear agenda or ideology—whose members are united only by their hatred for President Tinubu—cannot be good for our country. It will only set us back by decades,” Mr Onanuga said.

His statement followed the adoption of the African Democratic Congress as the political party for their 2027 campaign by opposition politicians on Tuesday.

The new coalition announced David Mark, a former Senate president, and Rauf Aregbesola, a former Osun governor, as its national chairman and national secretary, respectively. 

The coalition, which includes Atiku Abubakar, Nasir El-Rufai, Peter Obi, and Kayode Fayemi, is now expected to challenge President Bola Tinubu and the APC in the 2027 election.