The Presidency has dismissed reports claiming that former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, urged Nigerians to reject the All Progressives Congress (APC) nationwide.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, described the claim as false, accusing opposition figures of taking an old audio recording out of context to mislead the public.
Onanuga made the clarification amid the circulation of a recording of Adelabu during an interview in 2022, when he was the governorship candidate of the Accord Party in Oyo State.
The presidential spokesman maintained that Adelabu did not call on Nigerians across the country to reject the ruling party, insisting that a simple fact-check would have exposed the claim as misleading.
In a statement shared on social media, Onanuga said the opposition was manipulating the former minister’s old remarks to create the impression that he had turned against the APC.
He stressed that the former minister’s comments did not amount to a nationwide campaign against the ruling party.
Adelabu had also denied the allegation through his media office, describing reports suggesting that he asked Nigerians to reject the APC as false and misleading.
His media team explained that his remarks during the 2022 interview had been taken out of context and were being used to portray him as an opponent of President Tinubu and the APC.
The former minister’s office further stated that Adelabu remained committed to the APC in Oyo State despite disagreements surrounding the party’s governorship nomination process.
The controversy comes amid political discussions within the APC in Oyo State, where party members have reportedly had disagreements over the process of selecting the party’s governorship candidate.
Both the Presidency and Adelabu’s media office have rejected the interpretation of the old recording, maintaining that it should not be presented as a call for Nigerians to reject the APC nationwide.
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