The African Democratic Congress has denounced what it called a concerted intimidation campaign against Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the former interior minister.
The attempt to paint him as a traitor to the Yoruba people is risky and undemocratic, the party cautioned.
Aregbesola recently left the ruling All Progressives Congress for the ADC, where he is currently the national secretary,
It is “amazing to see the zeal with which some President BAT supporters are trying to mobilize the Yoruba and South West people against Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for merely exercising his democratic rights and choosing to stand with the Nigerian people,” the ADC said in a statement released Monday by the party’s spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi.
“This should be condemned because it is blatant perfidy.”
According to Abdullahi, Nigerians collectively determined that backing a Yoruba man for president would aid in the country’s healing following the June 12 election turmoil.
In an extraordinary show of political unity, Nigerians believed that backing a Yoruba man for president would be the best way to mend the nation and fortify national cohesion. “President Obasanjo received a resounding vote from Nigerians,” he stated.
Aregbesola was supposed to spearhead the campaign for Solomon Osho, the House of Representatives bye-election candidate, in Sagamu, Ogun State, where the ADC rally was disrupted on August 14.
His supporters, meanwhile, sounded the alarm on Sunday about a purported conspiracy to assassinate him.
The ADC spokesperson drew a historical comparison, pointing out that when Bola Tinubu (BAT) publicly criticized Obasanjo’s government, no one charged him with forsaking Yoruba interests.
“BAT was the most vocal opponent of Obasanjo and his Federal Government, nearly turning Lagos State into a backup power source, and rightfully so.
Even if BAT irritated the Yoruba socio-cultural group Afenifere, no one accused him of betraying the Yoruba race.
Thus, he questioned the ongoing demonism operations against Aregbesola.
As a result, we seriously doubt that Asiwaju would be pleased with the actions being taken today in his honor.
It is shameful and undemocratic to try to demonize Aregbesola and other Yoruba opposition leaders.
Additionally, they are detrimental to the Yoruba people’s long-term political interests. The South West is not President BAT, and he is not the South West,” he said.
Abdullahi claimed that the campaign was being driven by a fear of Aregbesola’s political influence.
One gets the idea that Tinubu’s supporters are so terrified of Aregbesola that they are doing everything in their power to defeat him, even enlisting self-proclaimed ethnic warrior Sunday Igboho.
However, the narrative they are constructing is that the Yoruba place greater value on personal and tribal allegiance than on the interests of the country. This is risky and incorrect.
Although the ADC cautioned against what it called an attack on democracy, it maintained that Aregbesola could defend himself politically.
“Ogbeni Aregbesola is immensely capable of fighting his own battles,” it continued. As a party, however, we denounce this act of bigotry and attack on liberty. It needs to stop right away.
