The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential campaign council has fired back at President Bola Tinubu over his recent criticism of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the 2027 campaign gains momentum.
It described the president as a disaster and accused his administration of worsening poverty and economic hardship in Nigeria.
The campaign council said Tinubu had created poverty and was now insulting Nigerians struggling with its consequences, insisting that Atiku’s proposed Affordable Life campaign offered an alternative to the hardship under the current administration.
Politics Nigeria reports that the response followed Tinubu’s remarks at the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign rally in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Saturday, November 7, where he accused Atiku of being among those responsible for the economic challenges his administration was addressing.
Atiku served as vice president under former President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007.
Speaking at the rally, Tinubu said his administration was clearing the mess left by previous governments, including that of Atiku, who was in charge of the economy during his time as vice president.
“Those people, talking of hunger, we are clearing the mess they created. Atiku was one of them,” the president said.
He also questioned how Atiku established a university while serving as vice president, asking whether public funds or personal resources were used for the project.
However, Atiku’s camp, through its Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, dismissed Tinubu’s criticism, accusing him of attacking Nigerians who were seeking relief from economic hardship.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Shaibu said, “You created poverty, then insult the people suffering from it. You attack my Affordable Life campaign, but the people you are really attacking are the millions of Nigerians desperate for relief from your failed leadership.”
Describing Tinubu as a disaster, the ADC campaign spokesperson invoked a Yoruba cultural expression to contrast the president’s leadership style with what Atiku was offering.
“Bola, Nigerians have tested your leadership. The verdict is clear: you are a disaster. In Yoruba culture, I am told, a calabash of pepper represents hostile leadership, while a calabash of honey represents hospitable leadership. Yours is a calabash of pepper,” he said.
Shaibu also faulted Tinubu’s position on petrol subsidy, declaring that an Atiku-led administration would introduce what he described as a transparent, production-based subsidy tied to local fuel refining.
“You say Nigeria will never return to subsidised petrol prices. You are wrong. By the grace of the Almighty and with the mandate of the Nigerian people, I will restore a transparent, production-based subsidy tied to the local refining of fuel,” he stated.
He added that the proposed policy would reduce energy costs, including the prices of petrol and diesel, while promising increased investment in social welfare programmes.
According to him, an Atiku administration would also end what he described as the opaque system through which the Tinubu government diverts funds meant for economically vulnerable Nigerians.
The ADC campaign council further accused the president of attempting to prevent Atiku from appearing on the 2027 presidential ballot, insisting that the former vice president would contest and defeat him.
“You want me off the ballot at all costs, but the will of the Nigerian people will prevail. I will be on that ballot, and I will beat you decisively,” Shaibu declared.
He maintained that Tinubu had little to campaign on after three and a half years in office, arguing that the administration’s record of performance had become its strongest political liability.
“My Affordable Life campaign will not be silenced by your insults or your threats. I will lead Nigeria back to prosperity, growth and development,” he added.