Abuja, Nigeria – Nigeria’s Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, issued a statement via X on Saturday, April 25, 2026, defending Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, against criticism regarding his description of an opposition political convention.
Okay News reports that Dare responded to a press conference held by the African Democratic Congress National Legislators Serving and Former Forum, which had condemned the president for allegedly labelling their recent gathering as “noise” and a “street convention.”
The opposition group, directed by former Nigeria House of Representatives member Nnenna Ukeje, accused the current administration of shrinking the political space and questioned the president’s commitment to democratic principles.
Dare rejected the claims and described the political group as conspiracy theorists attempting to twist the president’s words for political gain. He said, “Even before the official commencement of the election season and before the polls open, the ‘opposition’, a hurriedly stitched together contraption in search of a launch pad are screaming blue murder.”
The presidential adviser stated that the criticism followed a predictable pattern of behaviour aimed at questioning the electoral process. Dare said, “The script is familiar: attack and blackmail the President, discredit and second-guess the electoral process and hold press briefings to flaunt unsubstantiated allegations and lies against the administration.”
He stated that the president did not explicitly name the African Democratic Congress in his original remarks. Dare said the opposition party was projecting its own internal disputes and leadership challenges onto the federal government instead of unifying its members.
Dare also dismissed allegations of executive interference in governance institutions. He said, “Nigeria’s judiciary remains constitutionally independent, and no amount of conjecture can substitute for evidence.” The special adviser published the complete statement responding to the forum online.
