By Achile Danjuma
…Opposition party links President’s 29 July comment to recent threats by APC officials; says silence would be ‘ratification’
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to publicly clarify his 29 July 2026 remark that “all is fair in politics,” saying the statement has been interpreted by his party’s officials as a licence for intimidation and voter suppression.
In a press statement issued Wednesday, the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, traced two recent incidents—a death threat by APC Senator Francis Fadahunsi in Osun and an eviction threat by Kuje Council Chairman Samuel Danjuma Shekwolo—directly to the President’s words.
“Words from a President are not idle. They are read as an instruction by every office-holder who owes his position to that President,” Abdullahi said. “And since those words were spoken, we have watched what ‘all is fair’ looks like in practice: voters threatened with death in Osun, and residents threatened with eviction in Kuje. Members of the President’s party have heard him, and they have taken him at his word.”
President Tinubu made the comment on 29 July 2026 while meeting with Catholic Bishops at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The context of the remark has not been officially elaborated, but the ADC argues that it has created an atmosphere of impunity.
The ADC demanded that the President personally clarify that his words “were not a licence for intimidation, voter suppression, threats of violence or forced displacement.” The party insisted that a clarification issued by aides or a press statement from the presidency would not suffice.
“The words were the President’s. The correction must be the President’s. Silence at this point is not neutrality. Silence is ratification,” the ADC said.
The party also called on the President to publicly call his party’s officials to order, “by name, beginning with Mr. Shekwolo and Senator Fadahunsi.”
The ADC linked the two incidents as part of a pattern: Fadahunsi was questioned by police over his alleged threat to kill Accord Party members during the Osun governorship election on 15 August 2026, but was released without charge. Ten days later, Shekwolo told Kuje residents to vote APC or leave. The ADC said this is “not a coincidence” but “a lesson being learned” from a culture of impunity.
The party’s demands include a public, personal clarification by the President, and they also appealed to the National Peace Committee to speak now, warning that if it delays action until 2027, “it will be issuing condolences, not appeals.”
As of press time, the presidency had not issued any official response to the ADC’s demand. The APC has also not commented on the matter.