The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to divert public attention from worsening poverty, insecurity and the rising cost of living by repeatedly attacking its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
The opposition party said the APC had become fixated on Atiku because it could not defend the performance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration ahead of the 2027 general election.
In a statement issued on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC accused the ruling party of relying on former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s recent criticism of Atiku to shift debate away from the government’s record.
The party also criticised the APC for attacking members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria after they raised concerns about the state of the country during a recent meeting with Tinubu.
According to the ADC, the bishops drew attention to poverty, insecurity and the cost-of-living crisis, but the ruling party chose to challenge them rather than address the issues raised.
“Unable to defend its catastrophic record after the Catholic Bishops laid bare the true state of the nation during their recent meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC has shamelessly seized on comments by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in a desperate attempt to shift the national conversation and attention from its terrible performance in the last three years,” the statement read.
The opposition party said attacking critics had become a recurring pattern under the Tinubu administration.
“Yesterday, it was the Catholic Bishops. Today, it is Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Tomorrow, it will be someone else,” the ADC said.
The party acknowledged Obasanjo’s right to express his opinion about Atiku but argued that personal disagreements could not erase the former vice-president’s record in government.
“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is entitled to his personal opinion of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Every Nigerian, including former presidents, enjoys that democratic right. But opinions do not erase records,” it said.
The ADC claimed that Nigeria recorded stronger economic growth, greater stability and improved investor confidence while Atiku served as vice-president and played a central role in economic coordination.
It added that the cost of living during the Obasanjo administration was more affordable than under the current government.
“Whatever political differences may now exist between the two men, that record remains a matter of public history and cannot be erased,” the party stated.
The opposition party urged the APC to explain why food prices and the cost of basic necessities remained high despite claims of economic growth.
It also questioned the government over rising poverty, unemployment, borrowing and debt-servicing costs.
“It is time that the APC and its government took a break from attacking Atiku and the bishops to answer a few important questions,” the statement said.
The ADC asked why more Nigerians had allegedly fallen into poverty, why economic growth had not produced sufficient jobs and why the government had borrowed heavily without corresponding improvements in citizens’ welfare.
It further claimed that the administration was spending 69 per cent of its revenue on debt servicing.
The ADC also challenged the government to explain why communities continued to face attacks by terrorists, bandits and kidnappers.
It said hundreds of Nigerians remained in captivity while many communities lived under persistent security threats.
The party argued that these were the issues that should dominate discussions ahead of the election rather than personal disputes involving Atiku and Obasanjo.
The ADC maintained that the APC wanted the 2027 election to focus on personalities because it was unable to defend Tinubu’s performance.
“They want this election to be about Obasanjo’s personal opinion of Atiku based on a distant past because they cannot defend Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s record based on current performance,” it said.
The party added that the election would ultimately be decided by Nigerians’ living conditions rather than the opinion of any individual.
“Ultimately, the election will not be decided by the opinion of any one individual. It will be decided by the lived experience of more than 200 million Nigerians who are poorer, more insecure, and more uncertain about their future than they were before the Tinubu administration took office,” the statement concluded.
