The Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has dismissed renewed calls for the removal of the President, describing the agitators as “politically displaced and desperate.”
Onanuga made the remarks on Monday while reacting to comments by former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, during a televised interview on Sunday night.
In a statement shared on his X handle, the presidential aide accused El-Rufai of double standards, recalling that the former governor once admitted that four years was insufficient for any leader to effect “meaningful changes.”
“Nasir El-Rufai confesses here that four years is not enough for a political office holder to make ‘meaningful changes’. Yet he is at the forefront of the gang of political desperados plotting President Tinubu’s ouster, just two years into his tenure. What a contradiction!” Onanuga wrote.
He insisted that, contrary to criticisms, the Tinubu-led government had achieved significant milestones in less than two years, citing economic and social reforms.
“Phenomenal wealth creation in the stock market has seen ASI skyrocket from 53,000 points to over 140,000 points. Over N26 trillion in additional wealth has been created in the market under Tinubu’s watch,” he said.
Onanuga further highlighted reforms in education and social welfare, pointing to the introduction of student loans through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and ongoing cash transfers to vulnerable households.
He also noted that states and local governments were receiving more allocations, enabling them to “embark on capital projects and create jobs.”
According to him, governors themselves had acknowledged the improved fiscal situation.
“The governors said they have never had it so good,” he stated.
Taking another swipe at critics, the presidential spokesman remarked, “These power-hungry politicians want the President, who has achieved so much, to be removed, all because they have become politically displaced and irrelevant. May they never succeed in their plot against our nation and people.”
Onanuga concluded by warning that El-Rufai’s past statements would be revisited during future political campaigns. “Please save the video. We shall confront Nasir with it when electioneering starts,” he added.
