…Back opposition coalition
Two former Secretaries to the Government of the Federation (SGFs), Babachir Lawal and Boss Mustapha, have launched scathing criticisms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accusing him of worsening Nigeria’s problems and overstating his role in the country’s political history.
In a televised interview, Lawal, who once backed Tinubu’s 2023 presidential bid, said the president has failed to tackle the challenges he inherited from Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. Instead, he argued, Tinubu has deepened the country’s woes.
“Government is about improving lives. If Tinubu inherited bad policies, why hasn’t he fixed them? Instead, he has worsened them”, Lawal said. He accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government of undermining democracy through election rigging, judicial manipulation, and voter intimidation.
Lawal, who resigned from the APC on June 29, described the ruling party as intolerant and internally divided. “APC has never been united. It’s a party bullied into silence. The moment you raise dissent, you become the enemy”, he said.
Revealing growing cracks within the ruling party, Lawal disclosed that several APC governors and top officials are secretly aligning with a new opposition coalition spearheaded by the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The coalition, he said, includes former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, ex-governors Peter Obi, Nasir el-Rufa’i, and Rotimi Amaechi.
He dismissed claims that the alliance is driven by political bitterness. “This coalition isn’t just an anti-Tinubu project. Our goal is clear: replace a non-performing government with one that serves Nigerians better,” he stressed, adding that all key figures have agreed to suspend personal ambitions to present a united front for the 2027 elections.
Meanwhile, another former SGF under Buhari, Boss Mustapha, weighed-in on the growing rift, dismissing Tinubu’s repeated claim that he was instrumental in Buhari’s 2015 victory.
“Tinubu didn’t make Buhari president,” Mustapha declared, insisting that Buhari’s popularity in the North, where he consistently garnered about 12 million votes in previous elections, was decisive. “The APC merger in 2014 only added about three million votes. Buhari’s presidency wasn’t Tinubu’s making”, he said.
Mustapha’s remarks have reignited debate about Tinubu’s political legacy, just as influential figures from Buhari’s camp increasingly drift toward the ADC-led opposition alliance.
As the battle lines for 2027 take shape, the defection of high-profile insiders like Lawal and the public rebuke from Mustapha signal deeper fractures within the ruling party- and growing momentum for the opposition’s plan to unseat Tinubu through the ballot box, not bullets.
