The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said it is genuinely shocked and saddened that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose administration has presided over one of the most painful periods in Nigeria’s democratic history, would speak so dismissively about the opposition and the Nigerian people while awarding himself a medal for one of the most catastrophic economic policies in recent history.

The ADC said it is both ironic and tragic that a government under whose watch nearly 35 million Nigerians are now projected to face acute food insecurity in 2026 would accuse the opposition of lacking ideas or vision.

“This is a government under which inflation has devastated household incomes, food prices have become unbearable, insecurity has continued to spread across the country, and millions of Nigerians now live with a level of economic anxiety and hopelessness never before experienced in recent national history,” the party said in a statement on Monday.

It lamented that under President Tinubu’s administration, millions of families have been forced to reduce meals, businesses are shutting down daily under unbearable economic pressure, and farmers across many parts of the country can no longer safely access their farmlands because of banditry, kidnappings, and violent attacks.

The party pointed out that international organisations have repeatedly warned that Nigeria faces one of the world’s worst food insecurity crises, with recent assessments projecting that about 34.7 million Nigerians could face severe food and nutrition insecurity during the 2026 lean season. At the same time, over 2.3 million Nigerians remain displaced by violence and insecurity, while communities across the North West and North Central continue to suffer repeated attacks with little assurance of safety from the government.

The ADC stated that instead of humility, accountability, or empathy, President Tinubu has chosen to attack an opposition that has consistently demonstrated more seriousness about governance than many members of his own administration. It said it finds it deeply unfortunate that a President under whose watch the naira has collapsed in value, purchasing power has evaporated, and poverty has deepened at an alarming rate would attempt to caricature the opposition as lacking vision. It expressed relief that Nigerians know where they were before this government came into office and where they are today.

“The truth is that the opposition did not create the hunger in the land. The opposition did not destroy the value of the naira. The opposition did not create the insecurity that has turned farming communities into killing fields. The opposition did not push businesses into collapse or force millions of young Nigerians into despair and economic uncertainty. Nigerians understand clearly who is responsible for the hardship they are currently enduring, and no amount of political subterfuge can erase the reality of daily suffering across the country,” the party said.

The ADC urged President Tinubu to understand that Nigerians are no longer interested in speeches or political grandstanding. “Nigerians are asking simple questions: Why is food unaffordable? Why are businesses collapsing? Why are citizens increasingly unsafe? Why are more Nigerians falling into poverty despite endless promises of reform and recovery?” the party pointed out.

The ADC expressed the belief that the opposition will move Nigeria forward because the country cannot continue on this disastrous path of economic pain without measurable progress, worsening insecurity, institutional decline, and growing hopelessness.

“Nigerians deserve competent leadership, compassionate governance, and a government that understands that power exists to improve lives, not merely to retain control,” the party said.

The ADC said It found it bizarre that President Tinubu was announced to have secured 10.99 million votes in the APC presidential primary.

“In a process designed for President Tinubu to contest against himself, one may be tempted to dismiss the figure as laughable, if it were not recognisable for what it truly represents,” the party said. (The Guardian)