Presidency Rejects Viral Claim That Adelabu Asked Nigerians to Reject APC

The Presidency has rejected claims circulating on social media that former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, called on Nigerians to reject the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing the report as false and a deliberate attempt to distort his political position.

The clarification follows the circulation of a video purportedly showing Adelabu making statements against the ruling party, amid political tensions surrounding the APC governorship nomination process in Oyo State ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a statement issued in October 2026, Adelabu’s media office said the video was an excerpt from an interview he granted in 2022, when he was the governorship candidate of the Accord Party in Oyo State, and accused those circulating it of manipulating an old recording to create the impression that he had turned against the APC and President Bola Tinubu.

The statement insisted that Adelabu neither called on Nigerians to reject the APC nor renounced his loyalty to Tinubu, urging the public to disregard the viral report.

It also challenged those sharing the video to publish the full, unedited interview to enable Nigerians to assess his comments within their original political context.

“The report is entirely false, misleading and maliciously intended to discredit Chief Adelabu, undermine his loyalty to the APC and, perhaps, create unnecessary friction between him, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the leadership of the party,” the statement said.

The media office maintained that the former minister had consistently demonstrated his commitment to the APC and support for the President, despite disagreements arising from the party’s internal political processes in Oyo State.

Adelabu served as Minister of Power under the Tinubu administration before voluntarily leaving office to pursue his governorship ambition in Oyo State. His departure from the cabinet followed controversies surrounding the APC’s governorship nomination process, which reportedly left him dissatisfied with the handling of the exercise.

According to the statement, Adelabu had expressed grievances over the alleged imposition of a preferred aspirant and the failure to transparently release the results of the party’s primary election.

However, it said his dissatisfaction with the process should not be interpreted as evidence of disloyalty to the party or the President.

“His position has been consistent: loyalty does not preclude the demand for fairness, transparency and adherence to democratic principles,” the statement declared.

The media office argued that Adelabu’s criticism was directed at the conduct of the party’s internal electoral process rather than the APC itself, maintaining that political parties should uphold the same standards of transparency and accountability they demand from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It questioned the logic of declaring a candidate the winner of a primary election without making the results available to stakeholders and subsequently establishing a reconciliation committee to address complaints from aggrieved aspirants.

The statement said Adelabu’s position was that internal party elections should reflect democratic principles, adding that his demand for fairness had been deliberately misrepresented as a campaign against the APC.

On the controversial video, the media office explained that Adelabu’s remarks in the 2022 interview concerned the general disappointment Nigerians had expressed with political parties and the need for voters to pay greater attention to the credibility and character of individual candidates.

It maintained that the comments were made in the context of the political environment at the time and did not constitute a call to reject the APC.

The statement further claimed that Adelabu supported Tinubu’s presidential ambition during the period, notwithstanding his own candidacy under the Accord Party platform in Oyo State.

It therefore described the attempt to present the old recording as evidence of a current political disagreement as misleading.

The media office also disclosed that Adelabu had not granted any media interview since the conclusion of the controversial APC governorship nomination process in Oyo State in which he made the alleged statement.

It consequently expressed concern over what it described as an attempt to attribute words to him that he neither said in the alleged context nor authorised for publication.

On Adelabu’s relationship with Tinubu, the statement said the two men shared a longstanding relationship built on mutual respect, trust and affection, which the former minister had publicly described in father-and-son terms.

It insisted that the relationship remained cordial and that the circulation of the video would not alter Adelabu’s political convictions or create an irreparable division between the two men.

“No amount of falsehood can change Adelabu’s political convictions, rewrite his record of loyalty or manufacture enmity between him and Mr President,” the statement said.

The media office called on APC members, supporters of the President and the general public to exercise caution when consuming political information on social media, urging them to verify claims before sharing them.

It also advised the media to rely on authentic statements issued by Adelabu or his authorised representatives rather than unverified reports.

The controversy comes against the backdrop of political manoeuvring within the APC as aspirants and party stakeholders position themselves ahead of the 2027 elections. Disagreements over party primaries, candidate selection and the treatment of aspirants have continued to raise questions about internal democracy within political parties.

While party leaders often seek to preserve unity following contentious nomination exercises, aggrieved aspirants have increasingly demanded transparent procedures and credible explanations of electoral outcomes.

The Adelabu media office’s intervention appears aimed at preventing the controversy from escalating into a broader dispute involving the former minister, Tinubu and the APC leadership.

However, the statement's account of the viral video has yet to be independently verified through the full recording of the 2022 interview. The publication of the complete footage would help establish the precise context of Adelabu’s remarks and allow the public to distinguish between his original comments and the interpretation being circulated on social media.

For now, Adelabu’s media office has maintained that the former minister remains in the APC, supports Tinubu and has no intention of abandoning the party over the disagreements surrounding the Oyo State governorship nomination process.

It urged Nigerians to disregard the viral claim unless those promoting it could provide verifiable evidence that Adelabu actually called on voters to reject the ruling party.