The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has dismissed what it described as a coordinated campaign of calumny against the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji Ojo, saying such efforts will not succeed.
In a statement issued in Port Harcourt by its spokesperson, Darlington Nwauju, the party said recent allegations by a United Kingdom based group, Concerned Nigerians in the Diaspora (CND UK), calling for Tunji Ojo’s suspension, were politically motivated and lacked substance. Nwauju described the group’s claims as “idle talk from individuals disconnected from Nigeria’s realities,” insisting that the Minister had only been a victim of political jealousy because of his outstanding performance in office.
According to the party, CND UK had accused Tunji Ojo of using his ministerial position to influence political structures ahead of the 2027 general elections. Nwauju dismissed the allegation as baseless, stressing that “politics is about who gets what, when and how, and so long as the Minister’s activities do not exceed acceptable benchmarks, his constitutional right to associate cannot be questioned.”
The Rivers APC further argued that the diaspora group had no moral standing to question Tunji Ojo’s integrity, noting that it never raised concerns when Nigerians were suffering from long delays in passport processing until the Minister reformed the system. “This same group never spoke up when people queued endlessly for passports, yet today, under Tunji Ojo, the system works efficiently,” Nwauju stated.
He also described the reference to the 2020 National Assembly probe of the Niger Delta Development Commission as misleading, challenging the group to verify the ownership structure of New Planet Projects Ltd through the Freedom of Information Act. “If they check properly, they will see that the facts exonerate the Minister of any wrongdoing,” he said.
The Rivers APC concluded by praising Tunji Ojo’s achievements, saying his reforms at the Interior Ministry had greatly improved Nigeria’s global image. “Those trying to smear him are only envious of his success,” Nwauju declared, adding that “no amount of propaganda can diminish the positive transformation he has brought to the ministry.”
