The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has hit back at Vice-President Kashim Shettima over his claim that President Bola Tinubu inherited an economy that was “teetering on the verge of collapse,” insisting that the remark amounts to an indictment of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Shettima had on Saturday urged Nigerians to appreciate what he described as the difficult economic decisions taken by Tinubu since assuming office, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy and the unification of multiple exchange rates.
According to the Vice-President, the economic situation inherited by the Tinubu administration was comparable to being on “the road to Caracas.”
But the ADC rejected the assessment, arguing that if the country was indeed heading towards such a crisis under the previous administration, the APC must accept responsibility for the record of the government it controlled for eight years.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Kola Ologbondiyan, described Shettima’s remarks as “self-indicting.”
“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,” Ologbondiyan said.
He questioned why Nigerians should accept assurances from the Tinubu administration when the President belongs to the same APC that governed the country under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“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?” he asked.
Ologbondiyan argued that the APC could not distance itself from the record of the Buhari administration, noting that Tinubu had previously defended the former government and promised continuity in certain areas.
He further claimed that the APC had failed Nigerians across critical sectors, including roads, electricity and public institutions, while the rising cost of living had become the immediate concern for many households.
“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 ADC spokesperson also rejected Shettima’s claim that the Tinubu administration had rescued the country from economic collapse.
“President Tinubu has not saved Nigeria from collapse; he has pushed the country deeper into economic ruin, marked by unprecedented hunger, hyperinflation, naira devaluation, insecurity, mass unemployment and excruciating cost of living,” he alleged.
Ologbondiyan maintained that Nigerians were already experiencing the economic hardship that Shettima had warned the country was heading towards, arguing that the priority of ordinary citizens remained access to affordable food and other basic necessities.
“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,” he said.
The exchange highlights the widening political disagreement over the state of Nigeria’s economy, with the Tinubu administration defending its reforms as necessary measures to address longstanding economic problems, while opposition parties continue to criticise their impact on households and businesses.
