Tinubu Never Saved Nigeria From Collapse – ADC Replies Shettima

The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC PCC) has rejected Vice President Kashim Shettima’s claim that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu rescued Nigeria from an economy on the verge of collapse.

This was just as the council argued that Shettima’s description of Nigeria as being on the road to “Caracas” before Tinubu assumed office amounted to an indictment of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which controlled the Federal Government for eight years under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Shettima had on Saturday said Tinubu inherited an economy that was “teetering on the verge of collapse” and took difficult decisions that prevented the country from falling into a deeper crisis.

Speaking with journalists after visiting the president at his Lagos residence, the Vice President defended the administration’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the realignment of multiple foreign exchange rates.

He acknowledged the hardship caused by the reforms but maintained that they were necessary to stabilise the economy.

“The economy was actually teetering on the verge of collapse; he saved the economy. I want Nigerians to understand this fundamental truism. We were on the road to Caracas. He saved our economy. He saved the nation from falling to pieces,” Shettima said.

According to him, the administration inherited foreign reserves of about $3.9 billion, which he said reflected the severity of the economic challenges confronting the government when it assumed office.

Shettima added that Tinubu showed “the courage and the conviction” to implement difficult measures, including the removal of fuel subsidy and changes to the foreign exchange regime.

However, reacting in a statement on Sunday, the Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC PCC, Kola Ologbondiyan, accused the Vice President of attempting to rewrite the APC’s record while defending the Tinubu administration.

Ologbondiyan said Shettima’s claim raised questions about the performance of the APC government under Buhari, arguing that the party could not disassociate itself from the conditions it left behind.

He said, “Vice President Shettima’s statement is self-indicting. If Nigeria was heading to Caracas under Buhari, it means Buhari and the APC deceived Nigerians for eight years.

“And if that is the case, why should Nigerians believe Tinubu, who is of the same APC stock and was a major promoter and defender of the Buhari administration?”

The ADC council spokesman also said Tinubu had previously defended Buhari’s administration and promised to build on its achievements, making it difficult for the current administration to distance itself from the previous government.

Ologbondiyan maintained that Nigerians identify the administration with the APC rather than Buhari as an individual, arguing that the party should therefore accept responsibility for its record.

“But Nigerians do not know Buhari as an individual; Nigerians know APC. It is the APC, on whose platform President Tinubu is seeking a second term, that has failed Nigerians for almost 12 years and is undeserving of another four years,” he said.

He further criticised the administration over what he described as failures in infrastructure and public services, including roads, electricity and public institutions.

According to him, the rising cost of living remained the immediate concern for ordinary Nigerians, rather than what he described as political propaganda.

“Our roads are no longer motorable, there is no electricity, our institutions have collapsed. But what concerns ordinary Nigerians today is food, food and food, not baseless propaganda,” he said.

Ologbondiyan also rejected the claim that Tinubu had saved the country from economic collapse, alleging instead that the administration had worsened the economic situation.

“President Tinubu has not saved Nigeria from collapse; he has pushed the country deeper into economic ruin, marked by unprecedented hunger, hyperinflation, naira devaluation, insecurity, mass unemployment and excruciating cost of living,” he said.

He equally dismissed Shettima’s reference to “Caracas”, saying Nigerians were already experiencing what he described as the conditions associated with the comparison.

“Nigerians are not heading to Caracas; under the APC, Nigerians are already living the Caracas experience in their own country,” Ologbondiyan said.

The ADCPCC spokesman also questioned the government’s latest promise to introduce 10,600 electric tricycles, 300 buses and electric taxis under an e-logistics programme in the coming weeks.

He recalled the administration’s earlier promise that transport costs would fall by October 1, 2026, and urged Nigerians to assess the government based on its delivery rather than fresh promises.

The campaign council consequently called on Shettima and the APC to stop what it described as attempts to rewrite the country’s political history and concentrate on the challenges confronting Nigerians.

It added that the ADC remained committed to providing what it described as a credible alternative to the APC, urging Nigerians to support a government capable of making life more affordable and restoring economic stability.