African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called out President Tinubu’s government for what it describes as a cynical and opportunistic attempt to exploit the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari for political gains.

In a statement signed by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party criticised the choreographed Federal Executive Council (FEC) tribute and the publicised appearance of Buhari’s grieving son, Yusuf, as “a calculated PR stunt by an unpopular government.”

The ADC noted that this same administration had spent over a year blaming Buhari for the country’s economic troubles, only to now perform public grief in a bid to whitewash its battered image, especially in the North and among Buhari loyalists.

The ADC recalled how the government previously distanced itself from Buhari’s policies, especially on fuel subsidy, the economy, and public sector management, only to now attempt to cloak itself in the very legacy it once denounced. “Grief is not a campaign strategy,” the party said, warning that the late President’s family should be left alone to mourn their father in peace rather than being dragged into a political circus show.

The full statement below:

“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) condemns the Tinubu administration’s sudden and cynical attempt to wrap itself in the memory of the late President Muhammadu Buhari—a man this same government spent over a year blaming, sidelining, and scapegoating for every major challenge confronting the nation.

“The choreographed Federal Executive Council (FEC) tribute, complete with a publicised appearance by our late President’s grieving son, was not a demonstration of genuine respect. It was a calculated public relations stunt by an unpopular government, carefully stage-managed to distract Nigerians from the administration’s deepening failures and to rewrite history while the nation mourns.

“This is hypocritical and in bad taste. You cannot spend months discrediting a man’s legacy only to turn around and perform grief for the cameras. It is equally troubling that the young man, Mr. Yusuf Buhari, a private citizen and grieving son, was pulled into the political theatre of a Federal Executive Council meeting, just days after burying his father. Nigerians must ask, what kind of government uses the private pain of a bereaved family to varnish its public image?

“Nigerians remember that since taking office, the Tinubu administration and its officials have launched a relentless campaign to disown their predecessor’s policies. They have blamed Buhari for everything, accused him of fiscal recklessness, and claimed to have inherited a broken economy, not from the opposition, but from their own party’s former leader. For months, the official stance of the Tinubu Presidency was that Nigeria’s hardship was Buhari’s fault. The message was clear: Buhari was the problem, Tinubu was the solution.

“But now that it suits their political agenda, they seek to recast themselves as defenders of the late President’s legacy, pretending to give him in death the honour they denied him while he was alive.

“Recall that earlier this week, the ADC warned the family of the late President of the Plan that the government would make political gains from their father’s death. What we witnessed at the Federal Executive Council this week was only a part of the larger plan that had only started to unfold.

“The unfolding stage-managed displays of grief and the exploitation of a mourning son who was compelled to perform gratitude in front of the cameras are unconscionable and must be condemned by all decent people.

Nevertheless, we are confident that Nigerians can see through their grand deceit. No public relations stunt can save a government that has behaved in the last two years like an army of occupation.” (Nigerian Tribune)