African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has described President Bola Tinubu’s claim that the opposition created hunger and poverty as a shameless attempt to dodge responsibility for the misery his own government has inflicted on Nigerians.
Atiku in a statement on Saturday endorsed by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku argued that the President cannot light the fire of hardship with his own policies, then turn round to blame the neighbours for the smoke.
He sounded it loud and clear: “Mr President, blaming the opposition for hunger is either delusion or a staggering case of political amnesia. The APC governed Nigeria for eight years before you took office. You have added another three and a half years. Nigerians know who has been in power, and hardship did not begin when the opposition started talking about it.”
While advising the President to stop insulting the intelligence of Nigerians, the ADC Presidential Candidate challenged Tinubu to answer for his own records and policies, declaring that the hardship the Tinubu administration has brought upon Nigerians is real.
In his words: “Your decision to commission the unfinished Abuja to Kaduna Expressway from inside a stadium shows how far removed you are from the daily reality of Nigerians. A road cannot be completed with a speech or a ribbon cutting ceremony.
“Which administration removed the petrol subsidy and watched the naira fall from about ₦471 to ₦1,329 to the dollar?
“Which administration has presided over a rise in poverty that led the World Bank to estimate that 63 per cent of Nigerians will be below the national poverty line in 2026? Which administration extended the 2024 budget into 2025 while also operating a separate 2025 budget?
“Which administration recorded ₦7.13 trillion under ‘energy security’ in 2024 and faces questions over ₦11.2 trillion in NNPC pipeline related spending? Nigerians deserve to know who received these sums and what was delivered.
“Which administration must explain the $12.4 billion gap flagged in Nigeria’s external accounts for the first half of 2026? Which administration paid $22.5 million in ‘other charges’ on the Abu Dhabi financing facility?
“Which administration is responsible for the killings, kidnappings and displacement that continue to terrorise communities? These are the questions Nigerians are asking while your government blames the opposition.
“You asked whocreated the hunger. Nigerians are asking what you have done to end it.”
According Atiku, “The 2027 presidential election will be a referendum on your record. Nigerians have felt the cost of your leadership in their homes, markets and communities. Their verdict is already clear: they have rejected your administration.”
