According to Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, opposition leaders are free to form coalitions because they do not represent a threat to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Onanuga reportedly stated this during an interview on Thursday, July 10, 2025, on Arise Television’s “Prime Time.”
According to Onanuga, Tinubu’s accomplishments would speak for him in the upcoming elections. He also emphasized that former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, will not be able to beat his principal.
The coalition was also criticized by Tinubu’s assistant, who said, “They are jumping the gun; it is not yet time for politicking.”
“They are free to form alliances, but from the perspective of the APC, we do not see them as a threat,” he continued. It is impossible for Peter Obi and Atiku to defeat a Bola Tinubu and Shettima ticket if they are combined. That will not be feasible.
In other events, the administration has claimed that President Bola Tinubu played a key role in Muhammadu Buhari becoming the president of Nigeria in 2015, blaming former President Goodluck Jonathan’s loss on his inability to obtain the South-West region’s vital support.
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According to reports, Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, made the assertion on Thursday using his official 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) account, outlining Tinubu’s contribution to the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) 2015 victory.
Onanuga asserts that recognizing President Tinubu’s strategic role in Buhari’s historic victory is a necessary first step in any discussion on his political influence.
“Tinubu made sure Buhari secured the APC presidential ticket by defeating formidable opponents like Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Kwankwaso,” he stated. More importantly, though, he provided Buhari with geographic reach and more votes from the South-West, two things he had never possessed.
Buhari had long been popular in the North, Onanuga emphasized, often receiving almost 12 million votes in prior elections. But in 2015, Tinubu’s capacity to unite the South-West was what made the difference.
