Demola Olarenwaju, the Senior Political Assistant to a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has disclosed why the former Vice President moved against ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.

Olarenwaju disclosed that Jonathan betrayed a gentleman’s agreement with Atiku, hence the former Vice President moved against him in 2015.

He disclosed this while responding to questions on an X Space tagged “APC Must Go” on Saturday night.


According to Olarenwaju: “Most of the answers I’m going to give tonight are not just based on my deliberations with Atiku, they are based on my desire for a better Nigeria.

“Because at the end of the day, if Nigeria is better, my life is better and easier as a Nigerian.

“So I only find myself with Atiku, in 2015 I didn’t find myself with Atiku, I found myself on the side of Goodluck Jonathan.

“Like Avril said, their interest is their interest, the interest of Atiku at that time politically was not in line with the interest of Goodluck Jonathan at that time and so I understand why he felt to move against Jonathan at the time.

“Was that in my best interest as a Nigerian? I don’t think so, did he have the right to move against Jonathan of course because Jonathan betrayed a gentle man’s agreement.

“And I said that not to get into that controversy but how I view politicians or the political space. I view it in the prism of my own interest, is this person going to make my life better? Where are my interests best served?”

A former National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has faulted his exclusion from the party’s Osun State governorship primary, describing the move as “a complete farce,” while accusing the screening panel of bias and procedural breaches.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Saturday, after a meeting with the APC Screening Appeal Panel, Omisore, who spoke on behalf of the affected aspirants, alleged that former Governor and Minister of Marine Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, had unduly influenced the process to give an advantage to Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji.

Earlier, the APC Screening Committee had disqualified Omisore and six other aspirants from participating in the December 13 governorship primary over alleged irregularities in their nomination documents.


Those barred from the race include Omisore, Babatunde Oralusi, Oyedotun Babayemi, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi, Benedict Alabi, Adegoke Rasheed Okiki, and Senator Babajide Omoworare.

According to the committee, the aspirants failed to submit proof of sponsorship from at least five fully registered and financially up-to-date party members in each Local Government Area, as stipulated in Articles 9.3(i) and 31.2(ii) of the APC Constitution and Paragraph 6(c) of the party’s guidelines.

Only Mulikat Abiola Jimoh and Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji were certified fit to contest the primary.

Omisore dismissed the basis for the disqualification, insisting that none of the aspirants received any formal communication outlining the alleged breaches.

He said, “Well, that panel report is the jokiest report of the year. It is quite unfortunate that people have taken partisanship beyond politics.

“We know the panel produced multiple reports, and the one submitted to the secretariat was not the original. As we speak, none of us has been shown the report or told why we were disqualified.”

He further challenged the committee’s assertion that some aspirants did not meet the required number of nominators, arguing that the party leadership already had complete access to the membership register.

“I am the only one who has met them. But we have the same reservations. So far, so good. All of us will meet the appeal panel individually. But I asked them, ‘What are the allegations, because we haven’t seen any.

“We haven’t been written to. So, what are the bases of the disqualification? You said we didn’t have nominators, five per local government. But the law says, he who alleges must prove. They should have used another method to disqualify us,” Omisore said.

He said the development underscored deeper concerns about the fairness and transparency of the party’s nomination process.

“But you can know from our pedigree that the disqualification wasn’t the right word to use for us because we are germane in this thing. We are the veterans! You can see for yourself that where you have disqualified people like us in any contest, where do we go from there?” he added.

Omisore voiced confidence that the National Working Committee would revisit the matter and potentially reverse the decision, pointing to what he called growing signs of factionalism within the Osun APC.

“As a person, I look forward to good things in my life. The NWC, in their own wisdom, have the list of members of the party, and we have over 13,000 members of the party who are financiers.

“And all of us aspirants are guilty of the same thing, the same system, the same way. That’s the issue, and it calls for caution,” he said.

A key member of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Dele Momodu, on Saturday described former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the most experienced politician currently in Nigeria.

He posted on X while reacting to a user claiming that Atiku would cause the ADC to fail in 2027 if he emerges as the party’s presidential candidate.

@Mikeodinaka12 wrote: “The way he’s has been running and failing even before I was born, he (Atiku) will run with ADC and fail again lol.”


Reacting, Momodu wrote: “The stories of Atiku and Trump inspires me never to give up on my dreams.

“Buhari nearly gave up but won miraculously. Joe Biden won by the same divine favor.

“Atiku is the most experienced politician in the race today and only GOD knows tomorrow.”