Stop blaming Tinubu for Your self-inflicted problems, Onanuga tells ADC

Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has urged the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to stop pointing fingers at the president and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over its internal problems.

His reaction follows the ongoing leadership crisis within the party, which worsened after INEC withdrew recognition from both the faction led by David Mark and another group headed by Nafiu Bala.

In a statement, INEC’s commissioner for information and voter education, Mohammed Haruna, explained that the commission would stay away from dealing with either faction. He said this decision is based on a judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal on March 12.

The electoral body also made it clear that it will not take part in any meetings, congresses, or conventions organised by the feuding groups until a pending case before the Federal High Court is resolved.

Reacting, the Mark-led ADC demanded the immediate removal of Joash Amupitan, INEC national chairman, saying the commission’s interpretation of the appeal court judgment shows it has taken sides and can no longer be trusted.

Addressing a news conference in Abuja on Thursday, Mark accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Tinubu of pressuring INEC to undermine and weaken opposition parties in a bid to foist a one-party state on the country.

However, the APC pushed back, alleging that the Mark-led executives hijacked the ADC and neglected the party’s constitution and internal leadership arrangement.

‘SELF-INFLICTED WOES’

In a Thursday post on X, Onanuga asked the ADC to stop dragging Tinubu and the electoral commission into its internal crisis.

He said the challenges confronting the Mark-led leadership are self-inflicted, adding that the situation has been worsened by what he described as a controversial interpretation of the principle of status quo ante bellum in the appeal court judgment.

Onanuga, who titled his post ‘Status quo versus status quo ante bellum: An explainer to the wailing ADC’, said he consulted artificial intelligence (AI) and Google for the meanings of the Latin terms.

“Status quo ante bellum means the state existing before the war,” he said.

The presidential aide added that the term is used in treaties and diplomacy to describe a peace settlement in which neither side gains or loses territory, power, or economic rights, effectively restoring the political and geographical conditions that existed before the conflict began.

“The related phrase status quo ante, literally ‘the status before’, refers to the state of affairs that existed previously,” he said.

He added that “in the case between Nafiu Gombe versus ADC, David Mark, and Rauf Aregbesola, ‘status quo ante bellum’ means reverting to the ADC as it existed before Ralph Nwoye sold the party to Abubakar Atiku to serve as an SPV for the 2027 election”.

Onanuga said Bala has claimed he is still the vice-chairman of the ADC, that he never resigned, and that he ought to have become the automatic chairman following Nwoye’s resignation.

“The ADC should stop blaming President Tinubu and INEC for its self-inflicted woes,” he added.

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