Ex–political adviser to President Bola Tinubu, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has come out to refute claims that Northern politicians are driving the opposition coalition against Tinubu’s government.
He recently rubbished the reports saying that Northern political leaders always gang up against Southern leaders.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television, Baba-Ahmed revealed that the alliance, led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, is not a Northern-centric initiative.
According to him, political alliances are not new in the country, and every coalition that has been established in the history of Nigeria has involved Southerners, so people should stop saying political coalitions only happen when Southerners rule.
Baba-Ahmed stated that Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Rauf Aregbesola getting involved in the coalition is proof that it is not a Northern arrangement.
“There are southerners involved in this talk about coalitions, too. You know, Governor Rotimi Amaechi is there, and the former governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, is there. There are a lot of people from the southern part of the country.
They love the south too, they don’t want to be second to the north. They are there. It’s not every time that when a southerner is there, there have always been talks about coalitions,” he said.
Recalling how the coalition that defeated GEJ’s government was formed, he noted that President Tinubu, a Southerner, was very instrumental in its formation.
He concluded by saying that there have always been coalitions in Nigeria’s political landscape, and there will be many more for years to come.
“We formed a coalition in 2011/2012 with a Southerner. His name is President Tinubu now. He gave us his bit of Nigeria, and we formed a coalition between the AD and the CPC, and we created the APC. It’s not a new thing. There have always been coalitions,” he added.
