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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has launched a scathing attack on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accusing his administration of plunging millions of Nigerians into deeper poverty, hunger, and insecurity while allegedly preparing the ground for electoral manipulation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a strongly worded statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party said it was “shocked and saddened” by what it described as the President’s dismissive comments about the opposition and the suffering of Nigerians.

The ADC said it was “ironic and tragic” that a government presiding over what it called one of Nigeria’s worst economic and humanitarian crises would accuse the opposition of lacking ideas or vision.

According to the party, nearly 35 million Nigerians are projected to face acute food insecurity in 2026 under Tinubu’s administration, while inflation, rising food prices, insecurity, and economic hardship have pushed millions of citizens into despair.

The party accused the Federal Government of failing to address worsening insecurity across farming communities, especially in the North West and North Central, where it said banditry, kidnappings, and violent attacks have continued unabated.

“Millions of families have been forced to reduce meals, businesses are shutting down daily under unbearable economic pressure, and farmers across many parts of the country can no longer safely access their farmlands,” the statement said.

The ADC further claimed that over 2.3 million Nigerians remain displaced by violence and insecurity, adding that communities across several regions continue to suffer repeated attacks without adequate protection from the government.

The opposition party also blamed the Tinubu administration for the collapse of the naira, declining purchasing power, rising poverty, and growing hopelessness among citizens.

“The opposition did not create the hunger in the land. The opposition did not destroy the value of the naira. The opposition did not create the insecurity that has turned farming communities into killing fields,” the statement added.

The ADC maintained that Nigerians are no longer interested in “speeches or political grandstanding,” insisting that citizens are demanding answers to worsening hunger, business failures, poverty, and insecurity.

The party declared that the opposition remains better positioned to rescue the country from what it described as a “disastrous path of economic pain without measurable progress.”

In a controversial twist, the ADC also questioned the credibility of the reported 10.99 million votes secured by President Tinubu during the APC presidential primary.

The party described the figure as “laughable” in a contest where the President allegedly “contested against himself,” warning that it could represent an attempt to psychologically prepare Nigerians for what it called “fantastic rigging” ahead of the 2027 elections.

“The ADC also finds it bizarre that President Tinubu was announced to have secured 10.99 million votes in the APC presidential primary,” Abdullahi stated.

The party, however, insisted that Nigerians deserve “competent leadership, compassionate governance, and a government that understands that power exists to improve lives, not merely to retain control.”

Full text of tge ADC press release:

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is genuinely shocked and saddened that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose administration has presided over one of the most painful periods in Nigeria’s democratic history, would speak so dismissively about the opposition and the Nigerian people while awarding himself a medal for one of the most catastrophic economic policies in recent history.

It is both ironic and tragic that a government under whose watch nearly 35 million Nigerians are now projected to face acute food insecurity in 2026 would accuse the opposition of lacking ideas or vision. This is a government under which inflation has devastated household incomes, food prices have become unbearable, insecurity has continued to spread across the country, and millions of Nigerians now live with a level of economic anxiety and hopelessness never before experienced in recent national history.

Under President Tinubu’s administration, millions of families have been forced to reduce meals, businesses are shutting down daily under unbearable economic pressure, and farmers across many parts of the country can no longer safely access their farmlands because of banditry, kidnappings, and violent attacks. International organisations have repeatedly warned that Nigeria is facing one of the worst food insecurity crises in the world, with recent assessments projecting that about 34.7 million Nigerians could face severe food and nutrition insecurity during the 2026 lean season. At the same time, over 2.3 million Nigerians remain displaced by violence and insecurity, while communities across the North West and North Central continue to suffer repeated attacks with little assurance of safety from the government.

Yet, instead of humility, accountability, or empathy, President Tinubu has chosen to attack an opposition that has consistently demonstrated more seriousness about governance than many members of his own administration. The ADC finds it deeply unfortunate that a President under whose watch the naira has collapsed in value, purchasing power has evaporated, and poverty has deepened at an alarming rate would attempt to caricature the opposition as lacking vision. Nigerians know where they were before this government came into office, and they know where they are today.

The truth is that the opposition did not create the hunger in the land. The opposition did not destroy the value of the naira. The opposition did not create the insecurity that has turned farming communities into killing fields. The opposition did not push businesses into collapse or force millions of young Nigerians into despair and economic uncertainty. Nigerians understand clearly who is responsible for the hardship they are currently enduring, and no amount of political subterfuge can erase the reality of daily suffering across the country.

President Tinubu must understand that Nigerians are no longer interested in speeches or political grandstanding. Nigerians are asking simple questions: Why is food unaffordable? Why are businesses collapsing? Why are citizens increasingly unsafe? Why are more Nigerians falling into poverty despite endless promises of reform and recovery?

The ADC therefore says this clearly and unequivocally to President Tinubu: the opposition will move Nigeria forward. Nigeria cannot continue on this disastrous path of economic pain without measurable progress, worsening insecurity, institutional decline, and growing hopelessness. Nigerians deserve competent leadership, compassionate governance, and a government that understands that power exists to improve lives, not merely to retain control.

The ADC also finds it bizarre that President Tinubu was announced to have secured 10.99 million votes in the APC presidential primary. In a process designed for President Tinubu to contest against himself, one may be tempted to dismiss the figure as laughable, if it were not recognisable for what it truly represents: a subtle attempt to set the stage and condition Nigerians for the kind of fantastic rigging being planned by the ruling party ahead of the 2027 elections.

Signed:

Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi
National Publicity Secretary
African Democratic Congress (ADC)