The Presidency has dismissed claims that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is coercing opposition politicians into defecting to the ruling party, insisting that those who switched sides did so willingly. According to the Presidency, the wave of defections is driven by what it described as the visible gains of President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing reform agenda, not intimidation or pressure.
It also rejected allegations that anti-graft agencies, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), are being used as political tools to harass opposition figures. The Presidency maintained that such claims are unfounded and aimed at distracting the public from real governance issues.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency stressed that President Tinubu does not interfere with the work of anti-corruption agencies. Onanuga said the President does not direct the EFCC or any other agency on who to investigate, arrest, or prosecute.
The statement, titled “A Failed Opposition Engaging in Subterfuge and the Empty Search for Scapegoats,” described some opposition figures as politicians struggling to stay relevant. It accused them of pushing politicised narratives and baseless allegations in a bid to mask their own failures and gain cheap political points.
According to the Presidency, Nigeria’s Constitution guarantees freedom of association, including the right of politicians to change parties at any time. It argued that no one claimed democracy was under threat when politicians moved en masse to the Peoples Democratic Party between 2000 and 2015, questioning why similar movements today are being portrayed as dangerous.
On the EFCC, the Presidency reiterated that the agency is an independent institution established by law, with a clear mandate to investigate and prosecute financial crimes regardless of political affiliation or status. It noted that the EFCC’s actions are driven by accountability, not politics, and that anyone with questions to answer should face the law rather than cry persecution.
The statement further pointed out that some of the politicians raising alarm had previously been investigated or prosecuted by the EFCC even before President Tinubu assumed office in 2023. Others, it said, had been mentioned in international money laundering cases, with some associates already jailed abroad.
The Presidency warned against undermining national institutions in a bid to escape accountability, stressing that no one is above the law. It added that the fight against corruption is a collective responsibility and should not be trivialised with what it described as jaundiced or politicised accusations.
