The Presidency has intensified its defence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, taking aim at both sections of the media and leading opposition figures.
In separate posts on his verified X handle, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, accused Daily Trust newspaper of peddling “malicious fiction” and denounced former governors Nasir el-Rufa’i, Peter Obi, and Rotimi Amaechi as “political laggards”.
Onanuga said Daily Trust newspaper had become “a source not to be trusted”, alleging it consistently distorts facts, fuels regional and religious tensions, and sacrifices journalistic integrity for narrow agendas. He cited its controversial coverage of the Samoa agreement, which the paper later apologised for, as proof of its “sensationalist reporting”.
He warned that the newspaper’s editorial stance threatened national unity, urging Nigerians to “consign it to the dustbin” and reject manipulative journalism.
Turning to critics of the administration, Onanuga dismissed El-Rufai’s recent suggestion that Tinubu might come third in the 2027 presidential race. He accused the former Kaduna governor, alongside Obi and Amaechi, of plotting against the President despite their “underwhelming legacies”.
According to him, Tinubu’s record in two years dwarfs theirs, citing growing foreign reserves, historic stock market gains, harmonisation of the exchange rate, increased foreign investment, four consecutive months of falling inflation, and ₦103.5 trillion GDP expansion.
He added that vulnerable Nigerians were being supported through the NELFUND student loan scheme and cash transfers, while record national revenue and higher allocations had strengthened state and local governments.
Onanuga concluded that opposition forces were “desperate to oust a President who is delivering results”, stressing: “May they never succeed in their plot against our nation and people”.
