By Femi Aremu
The recent sponsored attack on the Executive Chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji, is nothing but a desperate outburst from sore losers who are still battling the reality of their political rejection by APC members in Oyo State during the governorship primary.
It is important to state clearly that Zacch Adedeji is too experienced, too exposed, and too responsible a public officer to misuse public funds for personal political interests. Public funds are not personal resources that can be spent recklessly as some people ignorantly allege. Those making these accusations have failed to provide a single shred of evidence because they know the allegations are false, malicious, and politically motivated.
The attempt to criminalize the political ambition of Mr. Soji Adedeji simply because he is the younger brother of Zacch Adedeji is both unfair and undemocratic. Soji Adedeji is a politician in his own right. He contested for the House of Representatives in the 2023 elections long before the current political permutations. Is he now expected to abandon his political aspirations because his elder brother occupies public office? Democracy does not work that way. Every Nigerian has a constitutional right to aspire to any office.
What is even more laughable is the attempt by some disgruntled elements to blame Zacch Adedeji for the political misfortunes of the former Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu. The truth is simple: Adelabu’s loss was self-inflicted. APC members across Oyo State are fully aware of his unfriendly disposition toward party faithful over the years. Politics is about relationships, loyalty, accessibility, and grassroots connection — areas where he consistently failed.
The Ibadan North bye-election was the clearest litmus test of his political standing. It is public knowledge that many party members were deeply offended by his utterances and attitude during that period. The election itself was reportedly viewed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as an opportunity for Adelabu to demonstrate leadership and political capacity, but he failed woefully. Party members openly complained that funds meant for the election were either delayed or inadequately released, ultimately affecting the party’s performance.
His downfall was largely caused by self-conceit and an exaggerated sense of political importance. Politics is not about arrogance or isolation; it is about building bridges and empowering people.
Many people around him repeatedly raised concerns about his disconnect from party structures and loyalists, but he ignored all warnings.
It is therefore dishonest for anyone to now turn around and fabricate conspiracy theories against Zacch Adedeji simply because APC stakeholders freely exercised their support for Senator Sharafadeen Alli.
Was Zacch Adedeji also responsible for respected figures openly identifying with the APC governorship candidate? The State Chief of Protocol at the Presidential Villa publicly accompanied Senator Sarafadeen Alli to cast his vote during the primary. Was he induced too? What about the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, who openly endorsed Senator Alli? Was he also induced? These are respected political actors capable of independent decisions.
The reality is that political support naturally gravitates toward individuals who maintain stronger relationships, show humility, and inspire confidence among party stakeholders.
The claim that people attended Adelabu’s declaration because of political popularity is equally misleading.
Many attendees were attracted by the musical performances and entertainment associated with the event rather than genuine political enthusiasm. A simple comparison between the calibre of political leaders and stakeholders present at Senator Sharafadeen Alli’s declaration and those present at Adelabu’s event clearly tells the story.
At the end of the day, APC members in Oyo State are politically mature and cannot be manipulated by propaganda, blackmail, or emotional outbursts from disappointed politicians and their supporters. Instead of launching baseless attacks on Zacch Adedeji, those who lost out should reflect on their political shortcomings and reconnect with the party grassroots they neglected for years.
Zacch Adedeji remains focused on his national assignment and has demonstrated competence, discipline, and loyalty in public office. Attempts to drag his name into petty political bitterness will ultimately fail because the facts speak louder than propaganda.
Those crying foul today are merely battling the consequences of their own political miscalculations.
Politics is not sustained by media propaganda, elitist arrogance, or occasional public spectacles. It is sustained by genuine relationships with party members, respect for stakeholders, accessibility to loyalists, and consistent engagement with the grassroots.
The attempt to demonize Zacch Adedeji because APC stakeholders and influential figures across Oyo State naturally aligned with Senator Sharafadeen Alli only exposes the frustration of those who believed political power could be sustained through personal ego and isolation from party structures.
No amount of blackmail can erase the fact that many APC members had long expressed dissatisfaction with the former Minister’s style of politics. Even many of his close associates quietly distanced themselves because they saw the disconnect between him and the party base. Politics is ultimately about people. What is leadership if those around you feel abandoned, neglected, and disconnected from your political journey?
Rather than concocting false accusations about misuse of public funds, attention should instead be focused on why a supposedly formidable political figure failed to inspire confidence within his own political family.
The truth remains that Zacch Adedeji neither imposed himself on Oyo politics nor forced anyone to support a particular candidate. Stakeholders, leaders, and party faithful made their choices freely based on political realities, relationships, and perceived capacity to unite and move the party forward.
At a time when the APC should be preparing strongly for the future, it is unfortunate that some individuals have chosen bitterness, falsehood, and reckless allegations over introspection and reconciliation. Resorting to attacks against respected public officials will not rebuild lost political goodwill.
The APC in Oyo State belongs to all members, not to any single individual. The path forward lies in unity, humility, grassroots engagement, and collective commitment to the success of the party — not in propaganda designed to settle personal political disappointments.
History will always separate those who genuinely worked to strengthen the party from those whose actions weakened their own political standing through avoidable arrogance and disconnect from the people.
Ultimately, the desperate attempt to drag Zacch Adedeji into the political failures of others will not change the reality on ground. APC members in Oyo State made their positions known based on political relationships, performance, accessibility, and trust.
No amount of propaganda can rewrite that fact. It is therefore unfair and dishonest to accuse a respected public servant of misusing public funds without a shred of evidence simply because some politicians failed to read the political mood correctly. Democracy allows every qualified individual, including Soji Adedeji, to pursue legitimate political ambition irrespective of family background.
