Abdulahi: Ruling Party Weaponising Personal Attacks

•Ruling party spokesman insists ex-gov, Atiku on a mission to upend presidential rotational principle designed to promote national unity 

•APC must answer to Nigerians, ADC warns

Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai as the most confused, clueless, rudderless and pitiful opposition politicians the country has ever known.

The ruling party stressed that it was now clear to all Nigerians that El-Rufai and his cohorts in ADC were on a mission to upend the presidential rotational principle designed to promote national unity and cohesion in the country through the imposition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as presidential candidate of ADC in the middle of a southern presidency rotation. 

But the ADC, in its reply, accused the ruling party of weaponising personal attacks to deflect from its glaring failures in governance, saying it has a responsibility to answer to Nigerians.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka, in a statement, said since El-Rufai’s failed bid for a ministerial appointment, he has gone into a political tailspin.

He stressed that his speedy fall from commanding heights to the political clown he has become needed forensic study.

Morka noted that his attack on President Bola Tinubu’s administration as incompetent, clannish and undeserving of a second term, at a meeting in Sokoto held on  August 2, 2025, was yet another outburst of a waspish politician.

“El-Rufai and his partners in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) are the most confused, clueless, rudderless and pitiful opposition politicians our country has ever known.

“They bring nothing to the political table except their oversized ego, wild entitlement mentality, obscene desperation and predatory presidential ambitions.

“Beyond baseless headline attacks against the present administration and the All Progressives Congress (APC), El-Rufai and cohorts have not presented and, quite frankly, cannot present policy prescriptions with potential for more effectiveness than those already being implemented by the Tinubu administration, with strong indicators of success,” the party stated.

Morka stressed that all the three major contestants in the 2023 presidential election, campaigned to remove fuel subsidy and harmonise multiple foreign exchange regimes in recognition of the urgency and seriousness of the country’s economic challenges.

APC added that, upon his election and inauguration, Tinubu swiftly implemented policy reforms as he promised.

The party spokesman said after their ‘crushing’ defeat at the polls, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, recanted their policy reform positions in order to “justify sitting shamelessly at the table of hypocrisy and hurling invectives” at President Tinubu and APC for implementing reform policies they also promised Nigerians.

Morka added: “If El-Rufai and his cohorts detest the administration’s policy reforms as much as they claim, why have they not presented policy proposals to restore fuel subsidy as it was and return the country to the ruinous era of fixing Naira’s value and operating multiple foreign exchange regimes that fed the greedy and insatiable appetite of the likes of El-Rufai, Atiku, Obi and Rotimi Amaechi for decades?

“And while at it, to tell Nigerians how they would finance the resultant massive deficit that would ground the economy to a devastating crumble. El-Rufai’s claims are as mischievous as they are hollow.”

Morka explained that with a steady rebound in the economy and other indicators of verifiable progress in all sectors, including the ongoing revolution in agriculture, high performing stock exchange market, improved power generation and transmission, increased oil production at nearly 1.8mbpd, consistent trade surpluses, among others, El-Rufai’s verdict of “poor governance and failed leadership” fell flat as no more than the rants of an inconsolable sulker.

“The rejection of El-Rufai as a Minister cannot justify his allegation of clannishness against the administration. A senseless claim like that can only come from someone who haughtily equates his selfish interest with the interest of an entire ethnic nationality,” he said.

The party insisted that Tinubu was one of the most detribalised and patriotic Nigerians alive, adding that no tribe, ethnic or religious group has been sidelined like El-Rufai wanted Nigerians to believe.

You Must Answer to Nigerians, Not Hide Behind Personal Attacks, ADC Fires Back

The ADC has told APC to stop weaponising personal attacks to deflect from its failures in governance, adding that it has a responsibility to answer to the people.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the APC has continued to behave like an opposition party despite controlling the full machinery of the Nigerian government, and challenged it to answer for its record on insecurity, economic collapse, and national disunity.

Responding ‘to the latest statement by the APC, the ADC said the APC was a petty tirade against it and its leaders, particularly Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.

The ADC said the APC has chosen distraction over substance, insults over introspection, and propaganda over performance, adding: ‘’But we must remind them that while words can be manipulated, the facts on ground cannot.’’

Abdullahi said at a time when Nigerians were looking for answers to insecurity, hunger, joblessness, and despair, the ruling party, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has chosen to attack those asking the hard questions.

He said it was unfortunate that a party that held the presidency, controlled both chambers of the National Assembly, and commanded the vast resources of the Nigerian state still behaved as if it was in opposition.

‘’You cannot wield this level of national power and still refuse to accept responsibility for the condition of the country. Governance is about delivering results. And by any basic metric, the APC has failed.

‘’The economic collapse under this administration is well documented. Food inflation has pushed even the most basic meals beyond the reach of ordinary citizens. Transport costs have doubled.

‘’The naira has crashed, and there is no credible plan in sight for recovery. Public debt has ballooned to nearly N200 trillion. The claim that this government is managing debt better is not just dishonest, it is dangerous. What we have is reckless borrowing with no clear fiscal anchor or sustainable repayment plan.

‘’Yet when the APC is questioned about this ruinous path, its response is to dredge up figures about state governors from years past. It is clear that the party would rather shadowbox in the news than face the consequences of its failures.

‘’Perhaps, nowhere is this failure more devastating than in the area of national security. The latest security report from Enough is Enough and SBM Intel covering April to June 2025 reveals a harrowing reality.

“Over 3,100 Nigerians have been killed within three months. That is more than 30 citizens per day. Among them were 1,865 civilians, 82 soldiers, and 39 police officers. These are not just numbers.

‘’These are human lives, entire communities destroyed, and families left to mourn. Yet the APC continues to peddle press statements  filled with rhetoric while Nigerians are being slaughtered in their homes, on their farms, and on our nation’s highways.

‘’It is within this context that the APC now seeks to deflect criticism by launching personal attacks against Mallam El-Rufai. We are not surprised. It is easier to insult those who speak truth than to address the truths being spoken. But let it be said once and for all that all ADC leaders, including Mallam El-Rufai are fully capable of defending their records.

‘’What they will not allow is for their names to be dragged into the mud by a failed party like the APC that is desperate to escape accountability. These attacks are a sideshow. The real issue is that the APC has no answers for the chaos it has unleashed.

‘’As we move toward 2027, one thing must be made clear. The next election will simply be a referendum on the APC’s performance in office. It will be about whether Nigerians feel safer, richer, and more hopeful than they did four years ago.

“And on that front, the APC has a steep — if not impossible — hill to climb. This government promised renewed hope. What it has delivered is recycled failure. It cannot run from that record, no matter how loud it shouts.

‘’In the end, governing a nation is not a theatre performance. It is about competence, courage, and accountability. The APC has had more than enough time to show what it can do. That is the real story. And no amount of name-calling will change it,’’ the ADC spokesman said.

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