Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of seeking a second term in office without directly addressing Nigerians over the economic hardship experienced during his administration.
Atiku, in a statement issued by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, said the President should personally account for his administration’s performance rather than relying on governors, ministers and political defectors to campaign on his behalf.
According to the former vice president, Tinubu must explain to Nigerians the impact of his policies on their daily lives before asking for another four-year mandate.
“Tinubu says he may miss campaign rallies because Nigeria needs his attention. Where was that urgency when Nigerians pleaded for relief?” Atiku said.
“He has had three and a half years to govern. In that time, families have been forced to cut meals, postpone medical care and watch their earnings lose value before they get home.”
Atiku argued that the President owed Nigerians answers on rising food prices, healthcare costs and unemployment, insisting that voters deserved an assessment of the administration’s record before the next election.
“Now he wants another mandate. Before asking Nigerians for one, he must face them and account for the first term,” he stated.
The former presidential candidate challenged Tinubu to explain what his government had done to make food more affordable and improve the welfare of pensioners and young Nigerians struggling to secure decent jobs.
He also criticised what he described as the administration’s focus on creditors and investors while many citizens continued to grapple with economic difficulties.
“Tinubu says American creditors cannot wait. Nigerians cannot wait either. They have bills to pay, children to feed and lives to rebuild. They deserve a President who treats their suffering with the same urgency he gives creditors and investors,” Atiku said.
He further alleged that the President was relying on political allies to defend his record instead of engaging directly with voters.
“Instead, he is assembling a crowd of politicians to speak for him. He can fill every campaign stage in Nigeria. He cannot fill an empty pot with surrogates. He cannot send a politician into a market to persuade prices to fall,” he added.
Atiku maintained that the responsibility for defending the administration’s record rests solely with Tinubu, who received the mandate of Nigerians in the 2023 presidential election.
“The people on his campaign council did not receive the mandate in 2023. Tinubu did. He made the promises. He took the decisions. He must face the questions,” he said.
The former vice president concluded that while Nigerians may listen to campaign messages from government officials and political supporters, their voting decisions would ultimately be influenced by their experiences over the past three and a half years.
“Nigerians will hear whatever his surrogates have to say. But when they vote, they will remember what they have lived through. No crowd of politicians can stand between Tinubu and his record,” Atiku stated.
