Sunday Dare aims dig at Amaechi, el-Rufai, calls them ‘wannabes, pseudo friends’

Sunday Dare, special adviser to the president on media and public communication, says the political opponents of President Bola Tinubu are “wannabes”.

Dare said the president remains unruffled and undeterred by the constant barrage of criticism from the opposition.

Former governors Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers and Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna recently made headlines with their comments at a conference on strengthening democracy in Nigeria.

El-Rufai said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has abandoned its founding principles and is promoting poor leadership.

“You cannot afford to have illiterates, semi-illiterates, and cunning people as your leaders. This is why we end up with the poor leadership we have today,” he said.

He subsequently tweeted that he would still criticise the APC even if he was in Tinubu’s government.

On his part, Amaechi said Tinubu and the political class would not cede power to the younger generation without a fight.

Reacting on Saturday, Dare said the president’s “detractors” should wait for the 2027 polls to test their popularity.

“While President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria was away in far away Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania, his political opponents, detractors, opposition elements, pseudo friends unfolded their Machiavellian inclinations,” he said in an X post.

“Indeed, while the President was seeking solutions to Nigerias’ energy problems in Dar es Salaam, some “wannabes “were heating up the polity.

“Expectedly, it was a gathering convened to further spread ill will. Nothing new came out of the gathering different from the opposition script we are used to. A few of the participants went overboard in their vitriol, fanning the embers for adopting undemocratic actions.

“These political gladiators have antecedents that are well known. We urge Nigerians to begin their scrutiny early. And choose between political hecklers and real progressives. The clouds are beginning to clear. The stage sets soon. The combat begins.

“Until then, President Tinubu, an avowed democrat remains undistracted and unperturbed. The fight is ahead. Not now. The only conversation he wants to have now is how to improve the lives of Nigerian citizens and constructive discourse on building a resilient economy.”

Dare added that Tinubu is “fully focused on providing the leadership that will transform our country”.