Buhari: Shettima’s Statement Self-Indicting, Why Should Nigerians Trust Tinubu – ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima of failing Nigerians, insisting that the All Progressives Congress (APC) must take responsibility for the country’s economic situation.

The party’s Presidential Campaign Council said Shettima’s claim that Tinubu rescued Nigeria from economic collapse was an indictment of the immediate past administration of Muhammadu Buhari, which also governed under the APC.

The council argued that if Nigeria was heading towards a situation similar to that of Caracas before Tinubu assumed office, the APC should accept responsibility for the country’s condition after eight years under Buhari.

Its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, made the position known in a statement on Sunday, October 4, Naija News reports.

Ologbondiyan accused Shettima of attempting to rewrite the APC’s political history while defending what he described as the failures of the Tinubu administration.

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 spokesman said the ruling party could not distance itself from Buhari’s record, recalling that Tinubu had previously defended the former president’s administration and promised to build on its achievements.

He argued that attempts by Tinubu and Shettima to separate the current government from Buhari’s administration amounted to an admission that the APC had failed Nigerians.

Ologbondiyan added that Nigerians voted for the APC as a political party and not for Buhari as an individual.

“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.

The campaign council also accused the APC-led government of failing to address challenges in road infrastructure, electricity and public institutions.

It said the rising cost of living, particularly the price of food, remained the biggest concern for ordinary Nigerians.

“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,” Ologbondiyan said.

He further rejected Shettima’s claim that Tinubu had prevented Nigeria from sliding into economic collapse.

According to him, the President has instead pushed the country deeper into economic hardship, citing hunger, high inflation, naira devaluation, insecurity, unemployment and the rising cost of living.

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

ADC Questions Shettima’s Transport Promises

The ADC campaign council also questioned Shettima’s promise to introduce 10,600 electric tricycles, 300 buses and electric taxis under the government’s e-logistics programme in the coming weeks.

Ologbondiyan recalled an earlier promise by the Federal Government that transportation costs would reduce by October 1, 2026.

He urged Nigerians to assess the administration based on its achievements rather than fresh promises.

The council called on Shettima and the APC to stop what it described as attempts to rewrite Nigeria’s political history and concentrate on addressing the country’s economic challenges.

It also reaffirmed the ADC’s commitment to providing an alternative to the ruling party, urging Nigerians to support a government that would make life more affordable and restore economic stability.