Atiku: Tinubu’s Greatest Opponent is His Record

Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has said President Bola Tinubu’s biggest challenge ahead of the 2027 election is his administration’s record, not the opposition.

Atiku made the comment in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in response to Tinubu’s remarks that his political opponents were “crying wolf” over alleged favouritism ahead of the election.

Tinubu spoke on Tuesday when he received the leadership of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), led by Matthew Ndagoso, Archbishop of Kaduna, at the State House in Abuja.

The president had assured the bishops that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would remain neutral and that all political parties would have equal opportunities in the 2027 elections.

Reacting, Atiku described Tinubu’s remarks as the “lamentation of a drowning man” and accused the president of choosing bravado over statesmanship.

He said it was troubling that Tinubu responded to the bishops’ call for credible, transparent and peaceful elections with combative rhetoric rather than assurances on electoral integrity.

According to Atiku, the president should focus on addressing inflation, hunger, insecurity, unemployment, exchange rate instability and declining investor confidence.

He said the administration should be more concerned about Nigerians struggling to afford food, farmers unable to access their communities because of insecurity, widespread unemployment and businesses affected by policy uncertainty and rising borrowing.

“The president should wrestle with the millions of Nigerians who now skip meals because food has become a luxury,” he said.

“He should wrestle with the insecurity that has turned farming communities into graveyards and highways into hunting grounds for criminals.

“He should wrestle with the unemployment that has robbed an entire generation of hope. He should wrestle with an economy suffocating under policy inconsistency, reckless borrowing and dwindling investor confidence.”

Atiku argued that political rhetoric could not erase the economic hardship facing Nigerians, saying citizens were more interested in government performance than political statements.

He said the administration’s record would ultimately determine its standing with voters, arguing that struggling families, unemployed graduates, struggling businesses and victims of insecurity were evidence of the consequences of its policies.

“The president’s greatest opponent is his own record,” Atiku said, adding that the government should spend the remainder of its tenure addressing the country’s challenges rather than creating political battles.

“A government that has little to celebrate inevitably seeks refuge in chest-thumping. But Nigerians are no longer interested in political performances. They are interested in performance in government,” he said.

“Empty slogans cannot fill empty stomachs. Boastful declarations cannot lower food prices. Threats against political opponents cannot restore the value of the naira.”

“His greatest opponent is his own record. Every unpaid worker, every struggling business, every unemployed graduate, every victim of insecurity and every hungry family is a living testimony to the consequences of his administration’s choices. That is the contest he has consistently failed to win.”

He also described democracy as a system built on ideas and accountability, saying Nigerians were looking for leadership and effective governance rather than political confrontation.

“The Nigerian people are not looking for a wrestler. They are looking for a leader. History will not remember who shouted the loudest. It will remember who governed the best,” he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the ADC also criticised Tinubu’s remarks, urging him to focus on terrorism, banditry and kidnapping instead of engaging the opposition.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the president’s real challenges were insecurity and other governance problems, arguing that elections were won through performance rather than political rhetoric.