Once one of Tinubu’s closest political allies, Rauf Aregbesola delivered a blistering attack on the president at the ADC national convention, signaling a bitter 2027 race ahead.
Nigerian politics just got a lot more personal. Rauf Aregbesola, the former Minister of Interior and one-time loyal lieutenant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has publicly branded the administration’s flagship policy framework a fraud. Speaking at the African Democratic Congress national convention in Abuja, Aregbesola declared that Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda is nothing more than a scam.
The words landed like a bomb in Nigeria’s political landscape. Aregbesola, who now serves as National Secretary of the ADC, pulled no punches as he addressed delegates at what was part rally, part political declaration of war. His message was simple and devastating: three years into the Tinubu presidency, the promises that swept the APC back into power in 2023 remain unfulfilled.
Aregbesola pointed to the naira’s dramatic depreciation since Tinubu took office, the surge in fuel prices that has squeezed ordinary Nigerians, rising insecurity across multiple regions, and what he characterized as systemic governance failures. For a man who spent decades as one of Tinubu’s most trusted political operatives, the public break is both personal and politically explosive.
The history between the two men adds layers of drama. Aregbesola served as Governor of Osun State from 2010 to 2018, a position he attained largely through Tinubu’s political machinery when the latter was the undisputed godfather of Southwest Nigerian politics. Their relationship began to fracture during Tinubu’s presidential campaign, and Aregbesola’s eventual exit from the APC confirmed what insiders had long known: the alliance was dead.
The response from the Tinubu camp was swift and dismissive. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, waved away the speech as the ranting of a man with a failed record in public office. Onanuga suggested that Aregbesola’s governorship of Osun State was marked by more problems than achievements, and that his criticisms were rooted in personal bitterness rather than genuine concern for Nigerians.
But the political significance of Aregbesola’s attack goes far beyond personal grudges. The ADC convention is a clear signal that Nigeria’s opposition is organizing for 2027, and the former governor’s willingness to torch his relationship with Tinubu publicly suggests he believes there is a viable path to power through the opposition.
The convention also comes amid broader rumblings in the opposition space. Reports suggest that figures like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party leader Peter Obi, and former Kano Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso are exploring various alliance formations ahead of the next presidential election. Atiku has reportedly said he would step aside for any consensus candidate, even if it is Obi, a comment that has sparked intense speculation about a potential mega-opposition coalition.
For the average Nigerian watching fuel prices climb, the naira slide, and insecurity persist, the political drama between Aregbesola and Tinubu may feel like theater. But it matters because it reflects a broader reality: the Renewed Hope Agenda is facing its most serious credibility test. When your own former allies are calling your signature policy a scam on national television, the narrative has shifted.
The Tinubu administration will argue that structural reforms take time, that the economy is being rebuilt on stronger foundations, and that the pain is temporary. Aregbesola and the opposition will argue that three years is long enough to show results, and that the suffering of ordinary Nigerians cannot be dismissed as growing pains. One thing is certain: the 2027 presidential race has effectively begun, and it is going to be brutal. Aregbesola’s speech at the ADC convention was not just an attack on a former ally. It was a declaration of candidacy, a rallying cry for the opposition, and a bet that Nigerians are ready for change. Whether that bet pays off will depend on whether the opposition can do what it has so far failed to achieve: unite behind a single candidate and a single message.
