The Director of Media and Publicity for the Tinubu‑Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, said that the recent gaffe made by the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, reflects his true sentiments. Ayu, a former academic and Senate president, mistakenly shouted, “PDP has brought us shame and we will not retain them in power,” during a live‑broadcast speech at a PDP rally in Kano on Thursday. Although he quickly corrected himself, the statement went viral and trended on several online sites and social‑media platforms.
Reacting to the incident, Onanuga argued that Ayu’s slip was not merely a verbal error but an expression of his genuine view. He claimed that the opposition PDP has failed Nigerians and brought shame during its 16‑year administration. “The unraveling of the depraved Peoples Democratic Party reached extreme absurdity yesterday when its National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, while campaigning in Kano, declared that the party brought shame to Nigeria,” Onanuga said. “Ayu’s verdict on his own party should not be seen as a mere slip of the tongue; it is an articulation of the inner mind of the former academic and Senate president—a self‑admission of the egregious failures of the party when it was in charge of our country for 16 years.”
Onanuga cited the Ajaokuta Steel Complex as a recent reminder of the PDP’s shortcomings. He explained that the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as head of the Obasanjo‑era privatisation programme, granted Global Steel a concession in 2004 to take over the company. A subsequent PDP government cancelled the concession after discovering the project was a mess. Global Steel sued the Nigerian government for $7 billion in compensation, despite failing to fulfil the terms of the concession and make Ajaokuta a reality. The case lingered for 12 years until the APC administration of President Muhammadu Buhari intervened. Global Steel agreed to end its legal battle and accept $496 million of Nigeria’s money. According to the Minister of Information, the Buhari government, which has been clearing many messes left by successive PDP administrations, made a bulk payment of $250 million and agreed to pay the balance in five instalments. To date, Buhari has paid $446 million of the $496 million; the final $50 million payment is scheduled for next month, after which Ajaokuta will fully revert to the country and allow the implementation of the government’s plan, including Russian involvement, to make the company operational.
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