Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of blaming the opposition for the country’s economic hardship. He said the President was trying to evade responsibility for his administration’s policies.
Tinubu had earlier on Saturday blamed his political opponents for hunger and poverty in the country while speaking at the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna.
“I hear my opponent talking about hunger, poverty. Who created it? They did! They created the hunger, they created the poverty. We are trying to eradicate it,” the President said.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, said Nigerians were entitled to demand answers from the APC-led government over rising living costs, poverty, insecurity and questions surrounding public expenditure.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Tinubu could not attribute the country’s hardship to the opposition after about 11 years of APC rule at the federal level.
“Mr President, blaming the opposition for hunger is either delusion or a staggering case of political amnesia. The APC governed Nigeria for eight years before you took office. You have added another three and a half years.
“Nigerians know who has been in power, and hardship did not begin when the opposition started talking about it. Stop insulting their intelligence and answer for your record,” the statement quoted him as saying.
He said the hardship confronting households and businesses was a consequence of government policies.
“The hardship your administration has brought upon Nigerians is real. You cannot deny it by blaming others,” he said.
Atiku also questioned the President’s decision to commission the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway from a stadium.
“Your decision to commission the unfinished Abuja to Kaduna Expressway from inside a stadium shows how far removed you are from the daily reality of Nigerians. A road cannot be completed with a speech or a ribbon-cutting ceremony,” he said.
He challenged the administration to account for the effects of its economic policies, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy and the depreciation of the naira.
“Which administration removed the petrol subsidy and watched the naira fall from about ₦471 to ₦1,329 to the dollar?” Atiku asked.
He also cited a World Bank estimate that 63 per cent of Nigerians would be living below the national poverty line in 2026.
Atiku further raised questions about federal budgeting and public expenditure, including the extension of the 2024 budget into 2025, the operation of a separate 2025 budget and spending recorded under energy security.
He specifically referred to ₦7.13tn recorded under “energy security” in 2024 and ₦11.2tn in pipeline-related spending by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, demanding explanations about the beneficiaries and the results achieved.
“Nigerians deserve to know who received these sums and what was delivered,” he said.
He also called for explanations over what he described as a $12.4bn gap in Nigeria’s external accounts for the first half of 2026 and $22.5m paid in “other charges” on the Abu Dhabi financing facility.
Atiku linked the economic concerns to the country’s security situation, asking the administration to account for persistent killings, kidnappings and displacement in communities across the country.
“These are the questions Nigerians are asking while your government blames the opposition,” he said.
He maintained that the administration should be judged by its performance rather than its explanations.
“You cannot govern for three years, make life harder, and then blame others for describing the hardship. You asked who created the hunger. Nigerians are asking what you have done to end it.
“The 2027 presidential election will be a referendum on your record. Nigerians have felt the cost of your leadership in their homes, markets and communities,” he added.