Aduwo, Fani-Kayode warn ex-SGF
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has tackled former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, over his recent criticism of President Bola Tinubu.
In a post on its X handle, the ruling party said that the ex-scribe is attacking the President because he (Babachir) wanted to be vice president, and Tinubu went for “a better, more qualified and more refined candidate.”
The APC described Lawal as the latest political content creator cum soothsayer, who is gasping for political oxygen. According to the ruling party, Lawal has granted several provocative and unwarranted interviews in the past, but none match what it described as the “incoherence and desperation” he displayed in his latest television appearance on Monday.
It said: “That outing revealed a deeply troubled soul, slowly unravelling; even if wildly swinging in all directions, wearing ideological inconsistency like a badge of honour.”
“It was obvious that the entire performance on Channels yesterday was nothing more than a poorly scripted attempt to bait President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This is the same man Babachir once swore the ‘wrath of God’ should fall upon anyone who stood in Tinubu’s way to the presidency.
“Today, he casually flings insults at that very man, calling him names, disrespecting his office, and making derogatory references. That says everything about Babachir’s character and upbringing — a fair-weather friend, an opportunist, clout chaser and clay-footed political crusader.”
SIMILARLY, Permanent Representative of the Centre for Convention on Democratic Integrity (CCDI) to the United Nations, Olufemi Aduwo, and former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, have faulted Lawal’s recent remarks on the President’s political appointments.
In a statement yesterday, Aduwo condemned the ex-SGF’s attempt to attribute his grievances with the current administration to the Yoruba ethnic group, describing such generalisation as ‘deeply unjust’ and ‘dangerously divisive’.
“It is one thing to hold a political leader accountable; it is quite another to malign an entire ethnic group on the basis of political grievances,” Aduwo stated.
He added: “To suggest that the Yoruba people are ungrateful to political allies or prone to excluding others is not only inaccurate — it distorts the record of Nigeria’s political history.”
Aduwo recalled the immense role played by Yoruba leaders in defending political allies across ethnic lines, citing the 1980 deportation case of Borno politician Abdurrahman Shugaba.
In that instance, he noted that Obafemi Awolowo of the Unity Party of Nigeria directed a Yoruba legal luminary, G.O.K. Ajayi (SAN), to challenge the Federal Government’s actions in court — an act driven by justice, not tribal affinity.
He also pointed to the inclusive record of other Yoruba leaders, such as erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo, who appointed Northerners to key positions like the National Security Adviser and Chief of Staff during his administration.
He reminded the Adamawa native that even under former President Muhammadu Buhari, whose appointments were often criticised for Northern bias, critics targeted the administration rather than condemning the entire Northern ethnic group.
On his part, Fani-Kayode, while writing on his X handle yesterday, said: “I advise you to be very careful with your words and your characterisation of an entire race, my dear brother, Babachir Lawal.
“You know I have a soft spot for you, but attacking the Yoruba race does not strengthen your case. It diminishes you, weakens your argument, and destroys your credibility.” He reminded Lawal that President Tinubu nominated him for the SGF position in the late Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
