The Vice President of Nigeria, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has said the death of Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Ibrahim Attahiru and the other officers in a plane crash on Friday, is a reflection of the depth of their sacrifice in the service of the nation, adding that “their gallantry would always be remembered”.
Speaking through a statement signed by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Laolu Akande, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo SAN, said he received the news of the death of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Ibrahim Attahiru, and other military officers in an air crash with great sadness.
“Their death while in active service in the defense of our country reflects the depth of sacrifice our military officers, men and women of the other ranks are often prepared to make,” Osinbajo said.
Below is the full statement of the Vice President:
“I received with great sadness the news of an air crash involving the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Ibrahim Attahiru, and other officers of the Nigerian military yesterday.
“Their death while in active service in the defense of our country reflects the depth of sacrifice our military officers, men and women of the other ranks are often prepared to make. We honour the service of the Army Chief and all those involved in this unfortunate accident even as we continue to demonstrate our profound appreciation to all in our military services and in harm’s way. The gallantry of this heroes would always be remembered._
“I join the President and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces to commiserate with families, friends and colleagues of these gallant officers and men who died in the crash. I pray that God grants them the fortitude to bear the loss. May the memories of the departed remain ever blessed.”_
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, has alleged that a group of political actors is plotting to remove the president from office ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Onanuga made the claim in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday. Without naming specific individuals or parties, he said the alleged efforts are being coordinated by those he described as “haters of Nigeria’s progress”.
According to the presidential aide, “haters of Nigeria’s progress are banding together to overthrow an administration that has been the most focused, most transformative in our history.”
His remarks followed recent developments around a political alliance taking shape under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which aims to challenge Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Onanuga referenced a 2022 comment by the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, in which the monarch warned voters against believing promises of quick solutions to Nigeria’s challenges.
“Emir Sanusi warned Nigerians what to expect from President Tinubu’s reforms. ‘It’s not going to be easy.’ If anybody tells you it would be easy, don’t vote for him,” he wrote.
He maintained that the Tinubu administration is pursuing reforms designed to reshape the country’s future, suggesting that opposition to these changes is at the root of current political maneuverings.
The post did not offer further details or evidence to substantiate the allegation of an overthrow attempt.
No official response has been issued by the groups involved in the emerging political coalition.
Accomplished media executive and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Aare Dele Momodu, has reaffirmed his unwavering support for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to emerge as the presidential candidate of the opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 elections.
Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on Monday evening, Momodu emphasised that while he stands with Atiku, he respects the right of other political supporters, including the Obi-dients to back their own candidates, particularly Labour Party’s Peter Obi.
“My best choice is Atiku, and that is what I expect Obi-dients to say, which I expect those who support Amaechi to say — there’s nothing wrong with that,” Momodu stated.
“I have never asked anyone not to support Obi. Obi is my very good friend. If you asked me about one of the people who should lead the coalition, I would say it should be Obi. But as a democrat, I’m appealing to them, hoping they will be able to do it democratically so that they will not say it was forced upon them.”
He stressed that all aspirants, including Obi and former Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, should face the test of popularity through a democratic process.
Following the last week’s unveiling of a coalition movement under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to challenge the President Bola Tinubu-led national government in 2027, the two contending parties are leaving no stone unturned in the battle of wits to outdo each other and gain the confidence of the electorate.
No doubt, the final merger of coalition advocates with the already existing ADC has been described as the biggest shake-ups in Nigerian politics since the end of military rule in 1999, relegating the alliance that led to the ouster of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 to the background. In retrospect, this is not the first time the ADC has presented itself as a platform for adoption. In 2018, the party was adopted by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s political movement, the Coalition for Nigeria Movement, but its operations were shortlived, and could not match the APC and PDP dominance in 2019.
But today, the situation is different as most of the apparachiks that constitute the then PDP, and a few of those in the APC are now morphed in the ADC.
But with these development, the mouthpieces and major stakeholders of both political parties are on each other’s throats with figures, facts and most of the time, propaganda tailored towards discrediting one another in the race to secure, or wrest the seat of power, currently occupied by President Tinubu.
The coalition’s unveiling, which took place in Abuja, witnessed the presence of various politicians across different political divides in the country. The party claim its major mandate is to boot out the administration of Tinubu, and rescue democracy, which according to them, is suffering and in near comatose status, in addition to restoring the dignity of the Nigerian citizen, restore parity in class differentiation and re-birth a life of ease for Nigerian citizens.
Among the politicians present at the event are Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party Presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Mr Peter Obi, Presidential Candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, Former Kaduna State Governor, Mr Rotimi Amechi, former Governor of Rivers State.
Others are, Gabriel Suswan, Benue State former Governor, Datti Baba Ahmed, Senator David Mark, former Nigerian Senate President, Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto State former Governor, among others. The group has labelled the ruling APC as a disaster to the nation.
“The APC government, which came into being on the false and evil propaganda to save Nigeria from PDP is now a disaster to our nation and therefore must be voted out of power,’’ the coalition noted in a communiqué issued after their meeting.
Former Senate President David Mark was nominated as the Interim National Chairman of the party, while Rauf Aregbesola, former Governor of Osun State, was nominated as the National Secretary.
In his remark, the National Chairman stated that the essence of a coalition is not a power struggle, but rather the repositioning of the country’s democracy that would enhance good governance.
According to Senator Mark, the party invites Nigerian politicians willing to join and commit to ADC in preparation for the 2027 general elections, urging members to be dedicated and steadfast in advancing the party’s progress.
“On the operational focus and structure of the New Political Coalition, which unites Nigeria’s opposition groups, political parties, youth organizations, civil society, and various patrons from all regions of our country.
Over time, this coalition of national political groups transcended gaming and political power. Today marks the beginning of what will be your long, difficult, and tedious journey.
“However, it is a journey that we are prepared to undertake to unite our collective belief and make our country, Nigeria, great again, regardless of our tribe, religion, and ethnicity,” he said.
However, the APC speaking through its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, dismissed Mark’s statement as “nothing but stitches of untruths, diatribe, and regurgitated and baseless allegations against the APC-led administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu”.
He said, “From beginning to end, Senator Mark said nothing about the purpose of the so-called coalition other than a loud declaration of desperation for power. What value does the coalition bring to Nigerians? Why should any Nigerian be concerned about a coalition of a bunch of egotistical maniacs for whom power and patronage are the oxygen on which their lives depend?
“One would have expected that, after months of vacillating between the devil and the deep blue sea, in search of a host platform, Senator Mark and his co-travellers would take Nigerians seriously enough by telling them what their coalition would do differently regarding the administration’s bold economic and sectoral policy reforms. What key alternative policy approaches would the coalition implement, and with what prospects of success compared to the high value and transformative impact of the administration’s reform policies? What exactly is the philosophical or ideological leaning of the coalition or its new party, aside from desperation for power at all cost, by all means necessary and unnecessary?”, APC queried.
African Democratic Congress ADC was originally named “Alliance for Democratic Change”. It was later renamed and registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Nigerians have had to battle uncertainty in their standard of living in the last 25 months of Tinubu’s administration, and this has necessitated the formation of a viable opposition front ahead of the next general elections. This is as the main opposition party, PDP, as hitherto known, seems to have imploded.
The political space has spiced up with the new ADC to halt the inordinate decamping of politicians to the APC, and as 2027 approaches, it is the side that convinces Nigerians better with human faced policies that may eventually carry the day, and so the gladiators on both divide have drawn the battle line to achieve this feat.
