During Leke Abejide’s 20th wedding anniversary and his wife Esther’s 50th birthday on Sunday, President Tinubu’s chief of staff Femi Gbajabiamila praised the Kogi lawmaker’s loyalty to the African Democratic Congress—ADC– amid its leadership crisis.
He told Abejide to ignore defection calls from former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello, stay in ADC, ‘fight them, scatter them,’ and support ally Nafiu Bala Gombe in their court battles against a rival faction led by David Mark.
“I know you to be a committed party man. I know you to be a fighter… So please, my charge to you is to stay in that same ADC. Fight them. Scatter them! Hold on to your party, ADC. Do not abandon them. We like what you are doing. Continue,” Gbajabiamila said.
He dismissed suggestions that Abejide should leave the ADC, insisting that the party belongs to him since he built it “with your sweat and your money.”
“Don’t mind them — the former Governor said that you should come and join… No, no, no. Stay in ADC. Win your election in ADC as you will. Bring Dada Gombe… Those of us in support… Do the right thing. You are a fighter,” he added.
Gbajabiamila further encouraged Abejide to fight in court to retain control of the party.
The video of his speech stirred online backlash, with some accusing it of meddling in opposition affairs as Nigeria eyes 2027 elections.