*Resign, You’ve Failed Nigerians, Your Renewed Hope A Scam, Ex-Osun Gov Tells President
*Civil Servants, Pensioners Suffered Greatly During Your Tenure, Terrorists Broke Into Kuje Correctional Facility Under You -Presidency Fires Back
*People&Politics Writes On How Close Both Were
By Felix Durumbah, Abuja
“The administration told Nigerians that if it does not solve the power problem by providing a constant power supply, it should not be voted for a second time.
“Today, power supply is far worse with some parts of the country receiving an average of two hours daily. Some other parts also receive an average of two hours daily, while others have been in darkness for weeks and months.
“Ordinarily, having made such a promise and performed woefully, an honest president should simply step down and not seek re-election.”
These were the words of President Bola Tinubu’s ex-close political ally, confidant, kitchen closet member and now National Secretary of main opposition coalition African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ogbeni (Engr) Rauf Aregbesola, yesterday, while speaking at the party’s national convention in Abuja.
Aregbesola, more popularly known as Aregbe when he served as Works and Infrastructure Commissioner throughout the eight years (1999-2007) of the Tinubu governorship in Lagos State, urged the President to resign having, to him, failed Nigerians with the Renewed Hope Agenda,which Aregbesola dismissed as “a classic scam.”
But, swiftly firing back, the Presidency described Aregbesola allegedly as a failure both as two-term governor of Osun State and as Interior Minister, reminding Nigerians that it was under his stewardship as Minister that terrorists broke into the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja under a hail of bullets.
People&Politics recalls that on 5 July, 2022, heavily armed terrorists launched a coordinated attack on the facility, killing, according to official sources, five persons and freeing 879 inmates, including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) inmates implicated in heinous crimes and multiple bloodlettings in the country.
It is noteworthy too that almost half were recaptured in the subsequent days.
The Tinubu-Aregbe Lagos Romance, So Warm
Aregbesola, whose relationship with then Gov. Tinubu was so warm and mutually trust-filled that during the several cabinet shakeups which characterized the latter’s Lagos administration, he was often about the sole survivor, yesterday analyzed the Tinubu All Progressives Congress (APC) federal administration and returned a verdict of failed to it.
In the heydays of the Tinubu Lagos administration, Aregbesola was widely perceived as an untouchable.
Even Deputy Governors Femi Pedro and Kofo Bucknor-Akerele were impeached or forced to quit office over one issue or the other with Tinubu pertaining to governance, but Aregbesola remained untouched. He had Tinubu’s ears, Tinubu had his ears in return.
They were like Siamese twins in Lagos governance with Tinubu, of course, as the boss, but Aregbesola as the very dependable and deeply trusted unofficial deputy governor.
Getting Tinubu’s okay on issues was easy once anyone had Aregbesola on their side.
Such was indicative of the coziness of the relationship between both juggernauts.
Kernels Of Aregbesola’s Attack Yesterday
Yesterday, though, while launching the stern attack on the administration, the former Osun State governor pointed to worsening insecurity and biting, unresolved socioeconomic economic difficulties in the land as part of reasons he believed Tinubu should resign and go home.
Accusing the administration of economic mismanagement coupled with failure to deliver on key promises that directly touch the lives of Nigerians, Aregbesola cited the case of the national currency, the Naira, saying it has significantly depreciated since 2023 when Tinubu assumed office, adding also the President’s three-year reign so far had seen a jerk-up in fuel prices, further grinding many more Nigerians in the dust of poverty.
Taking on the Renewed Hope singsong of the administration, he asked: “When exactly will this hope come to fruition? The answer is simple. It is a scam. The answer is what? A scam!
“If allowed, this regime will continue shouting Renewed Hope into eternity. We have the duty to stop scammers from retaining power.”
Further pouring hard words on the administration’s policies, the ADC national scribe beamed his assessment also on performance of the public electricity supply sector.
Criticising the government’s handling of the sensitive area, Aregbesola claimed that many parts of the country now receive only a few hours of power supply daily, with some plunged into extended blackouts.
His words: “The administration told Nigerians that if it does not solve the power problem by providing a constant power supply, it should not be voted for a second time.
“Today, power supply is far worse with some parts of the country receiving an average of two hours daily. Some other parts also receive an average of two hours daily, while others have been in darkness for weeks and months.
“Ordinarily, having made such a promise and performed woefully, an honest President should simply step down and not seek re-election.”
Aregbesola alleged that “rather, what we are witnessing is the most desperate attempt by a candidate in Nigerian electoral history to retain power at all costs, even if it means undermining the entire democratic system.”
On insecurity, to him, the APC-led federal administration had normalised “criminality” within the electoral system.
He slammed the upswing in violent attacks nationwide, describing the situation as evidence of alleged leadership failure.
Apparently not done yet, Aregbesola recalled: “Distinguished delegates and our rival leaders, four years ago this government promised Nigerians Renewed Hope for a better future. Now, three years into its four-year term, it still makes promises and offers renewed hope.”
Dwelling on rising poverty levels and the increase in number of out-of-school children, he thumbed down the government’s efforts as insignificant and lacking impact.
Having pointed out the failings of the administration, he sued for support for the ADC, saying it was on a “rescue mission” to reclaim Nigeria from what he described as the “strangulating grip” of the APC.
Imploring Nigerians to back the ADC, Aregbesola warned that any neutrality in the current political climate was tantamount to complicity, stating that “we cannot allow this continued drift into hopelessness.”
Presidency Replies Aregbesola: Under You As Gov, Civil Servants Were Not Paid, Pensioners Suffered Greatly
But, the Presidency returned fire for fire.
Presidential Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga waved off ADC, describing it as a convergence of “desperate politicians” with no clear national agenda.
In a post shared on his X, Tinubu’s aide stated: “No, Rauf. The real scammers are the politicians inside the SPV called ADC.”
People&Politics reports that SPV stands for Special Purpose Vehicle.
Accusing the ADC National Secretary of deliberately distorting government’s policies as spearheaded by his (Aregbesola’s) ex-boss and benefactor whom he urged to resign, Onanuga wrote: “At the event, Aregbesola reportedly called on his former boss, mentor, and benefactor to resign, parroting the opposition’s warped narratives about the economy and orchestrated reports of terrorist attacks in some parts of the country.”
Going down memory lane, the presidential spokesman recalled what he described as the pains and imposed hardships witnessed by Nigerians during the Aregbesola era in office as State Governor and later as Minister.
Onanuga stated: “His eight years as governor of Osun State were characterised by unmitigated hardship for the people; civil servants went unpaid for months, and pensioners suffered greatly.”
The situation, People&Politics notes, is in contradistinction to President Tinubu’s issuance of a pension bond worth an eye-popping N758billion to those under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to settle outstanding liabilities, with many retirees having collected their share of the money since last year. Furthermore, the administration has reintroduced payment of gratuity.
“During his four years, obtaining a Nigerian passport became a nightmarish process, and there were multiple jailbreaks, including the infamous Kuje prison escape,” Onanuga added.
To him, therefore, it was “ironic” for Aregbesola to now speak on insecurity “for someone who failed so woefully to secure our correctional centres, it is ironic that Aregbesola now seeks to lecture others on insecurity.”
Onanuga highlighted what he saw as some of the accomplishments of the Tinubu government, saying “the Tinubu administration has never shied away from acknowledging that policy reforms have brought unintended consequences but we have introduced numerous relief measures, including cash transfers and support for small businesses.”
The aide added: “We have seen increased GDP, stronger foreign reserves, and a bullish stock market reflecting growing investor confidence.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda is not a scam.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: Tinubu (r) and Aregbesola…when the going was cordial.
