‘Must Loyalty Mean Surrendering Conscience?’ — Buhari’s Ex-Aide Slams APC Critics Over Abandoned Road Outcry
Babafemi Ojudu, a prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Muhammadu Buhari, has delivered a fierce rebuttal to party loyalists criticizing his stance on failed public infrastructure.
Ojudu insists that political party affiliation should never seal a citizen’s lips from demanding governance accountability.
The controversy erupted following a Facebook post where Ojudu openly questioned the suspension of construction work on the critical Akure–Ado-Ekiti highway—the major artery leading directly to his home city.
The Double Standard of Party Loyalty
The former presidential aide expressed deep frustration with the “unreasonable” backlash from his fellow party members. He pointed out the hypocrisy in how partisan commentators digest public feedback.
“When I wrote that the President had done a commendable job on the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, they praised me to the skies,” Ojudu stated. “Now that I have drawn attention to the abandonment of construction work on the Akure–Ado-Ekiti road… the same people are foaming at the mouth, calling me all sorts of names and reminding me that I was once in government.”
Ojudu challenged the underlying culture of political sycophancy in Nigeria, asking whether partisan loyalty demands absolute blindness to governance failures.
“What manner of citizens are we becoming? Does belonging to a political party require surrendering one’s conscience, citizenship, and right to demand accountability? Must party loyalty mean applauding everything and questioning nothing?”
Citizenship Over Partisanship
The veteran editor and media entrepreneur emphasized that monitoring public projects is a patriotic obligation rather than an act of political sabotage. He rejected mainstream media headlines characterizing his observations as “tackling” or attacking the Federal Government.
According to Ojudu, balancing praise for good governance with criticism for infrastructural failure is the very definition of active citizenship.
“I can commend the government when it performs well and question it when something appears to have gone wrong. There is no contradiction in that. It is called citizenship,” he affirmed.
The Real-World Cost of Bad Roads
Ojudu reminded partisan critics that infrastructure decay does not discriminate based on political party lines. He urged the public to maintain sharp alertness regarding how national projects are conceived, funded, and delivered.
