According to a video posted on the official YouTube channel of SYMFONI on Saturday, July 25, 2026, while discussing presidency internal friction, the former government official recounted internal power struggles that led to unauthorized administrative actions against key appointees.
Lawal asserted that high ranking state officials manipulated executive processes behind the commander in chief’s back to bypass official presidential approvals and enforce discipline against key allies while the former head of state was temporarily away from office.
He expressed the view that some of the policies currently being pursued by the Federal Government reflect aspects of the development agenda Abiola championed before his death.
Commenting on the forthcoming Osun State governorship election, which is the second off-cycle governorship poll scheduled for the year, Ucheaga addressed concerns raised over the conduct of the recent Ekiti State governorship election that returned Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for another term.
According to him, election contests naturally produce winners and losers, but it has become common in Nigeria for defeated candidates and political parties to accuse the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) whenever election results do not favour them.
Reacting to reports that a member of the United States Congress is promoting legislation that would deny Nigeria American assistance because of continuing terrorist attacks, Ucheaga said the country has remained committed to tackling insecurity over the years.
He explained that successive governments have been confronting terrorism, banditry and other violent crimes since 2014, adding that such security threats cannot be eliminated immediately.
Drawing a comparison with the United States, he noted that America also spent years combating terrorism before recording significant progress.
According to him, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has continued to deploy efforts aimed at addressing terrorism and insecurity across the country.
He added that any decision by the United States House of Representatives to suspend assistance to Nigeria would not stop the country's determination to continue fighting terrorists and criminal groups.
The former NCPN official also observed that many of the major security and governance problems confronting the current administration, including terrorism, kidnapping, corruption and banditry, existed long before President Tinubu assumed office.
He argued that the government has continued to confront these inherited challenges while working to improve national security.
Addressing the issue of school kidnappings and widespread insecurity, he alleged that some individuals were motivated by political interests and sought to create instability for personal gains.
He said, "In 2022, foreigners were brought into the country to cause confusion and the question is: have those people gone? They have not gone."
He questioned whether those responsible for bringing such individuals into Nigeria had taken them back, insisting that they had remained within the country.
Ucheaga also referred to comments previously made by Abubakar Kawu Baraje, one of the prominent figures involved in the formation of the APC, who reportedly linked Nigeria's prolonged insecurity to the alleged influx of foreign Fulani terrorists from neighbouring countries ahead of the 2015 general elections.
He concluded by stating that, in his opinion, President Tinubu has demonstrated courage similar to that shown by the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola during Nigeria's democratic struggle.
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