The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council, ADCPCC, has criticised Vice President Kashim Shettima’s claim that President Bola Tinubu prevented Nigeria from sliding into an economic crisis, saying the statement amounts to an indictment of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The council argued that if Nigeria was indeed heading towards what Shettima described as a “Caracas” situation before Tinubu assumed office, then the APC should accept responsibility because the party controlled the Federal Government throughout Buhari’s eight-year administration.
The position was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Kola Ologbondiyan. He said the APC could not distance itself from the economic record of the Buhari administration, particularly as Tinubu, who is seeking a second term under the party, had repeatedly defended the former government and pledged to build on some aspects of its legacy.
Ologbondiyan described Shettima’s comment as “self-indicting,” arguing that if Nigeria was heading towards Caracas under Buhari, then the APC should explain why Nigerians experienced such conditions after eight years of the party’s administration.
He said Nigerians were less interested in political explanations and more concerned about the rising cost of food and other basic necessities, as well as challenges affecting roads, electricity and public institutions. According to him, the APC has been in control of the Federal Government for almost 12 years and should therefore be judged by its record in office.
The ADC campaign council also rejected the suggestion that Nigeria was merely heading towards a “Caracas” situation, arguing that many Nigerians were already experiencing severe economic hardship. Ologbondiyan said the country was facing worsening hunger, inflation, naira depreciation, insecurity, unemployment and a rising cost of living under the current administration.
“Nigerians are not heading to Caracas; under the APC, Nigerians are already living the Caracas experience in their own country,” Ologbondiyan said.
He further accused the Tinubu administration of worsening the country’s economic difficulties, insisting that the President had not rescued Nigeria from collapse but had instead pushed the country further into what he described as economic ruin.
The ADC campaign council also questioned the government’s plans to introduce 10,600 electric tricycles, 300 buses and electric taxis under its e-logistics programme. It recalled an earlier government promise that transportation costs would be reduced by October 1, 2026, and questioned whether the latest plans would deliver meaningful relief to Nigerians.
The opposition campaign council urged the APC to acknowledge the economic difficulties facing citizens and said the ADC remained committed to providing an alternative political platform and government ahead of the 2027 general elections.
SOURCE: VANGUARD
