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By Myke Agunwa, Abuja
Former Senior Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Public Affairs, Aliyu Audu, said that he resigned from President Bola Tinubu’s administration because it has disappointed the masses and inflicted pain on Nigerians.
Audu, who sent his resignation letter dated June 8, 2025, through Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, said that he cannot in good conscience, remain in an administration that is stifling the country’s democratic space.
Speaking on Monday during an interview with journalists, Audu said that his decision was driven by a matter of “principle and conscience,” just as he accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
He said that Tinubu’s utterances during Democracy Day celebration confirm that he is happy that the political space is toxic and the opposition is crushed. He said that while he does not support the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he would not lend himself “as an instrument to reduce Nigeria to a one-party state.”
“It confirmed it on one hand, and on the other hand, it strengthened my resolve to not work for him in 2027,” Audu said, referring to Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech where the president claimed to enjoy seeing the opposition in disarray.
“I couldn’t in all honesty and in my conscience, be in his government knowing I’m plotting against removal in 2027, because I will, and by God, we will remove him. Collectively, Nigerians will install a leader that will be our chosen, not his chosen. Not emilokan (my turn), but awa lokan (our turn), in fact, gbogbo wa lokan (all of us).”
He also criticized the inclusion of Nyesom Wike, a PDP member and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, in the APC-led government, questioning his loyalty and the legitimacy of such a move.
“What is Wike doing in our government? If he’s going to leave the PDP, he should leave. If we’re doing a government of national unity, you deal with the party, not individuals. The party is what we vote for — not Bola Tinubu but APC; not Atiku but PDP; not Peter Obi but Labour Party.”
“If we now begin to silence or crush opposition simply because we have the upper hand, then we are no different from the very system we once criticised under Obasanjo in 2003,” he said.
He criticised the Tinubu-led government for allegedly prioritising revenge over national unity, claiming the administration has strayed from the promises made during the campaign.
“When it gets to a stage where our leading figure (the President) prioritises revenge over collective progress. We know what PDP did to the opposition between 2003 and 2007, specifically. We know what former President Olusegun Obasanjo did as president, how he muscled his way into taking the entire Southwest, which was manned by this man (Tinubu) at the time. It didn’t just stop there and it went on, but he (Tinubu) survived it.”
He said that he will actively campaign against Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027 adding that it will be not be fair to do that while still serving in the same government.
“I think it’s a matter of principle and living for something greater than oneself. It’s about believing that Nigeria is not beyond fixing. It’s about knowing what loyalty is, to what and to whom loyalty should be absolute.
“Being bold enough to make a decision even if it comes at a personal cost. Even if the future is uncertain, I would rather face an uncertain future than be certain about an immoral today,” he said.