The Presidency has accused the African Democratic Congress (ADC) of consistently crossing the lines of decency in its desperation to present itself as a credible opposition party.
This followed allegations by the ADC that President Bola Tinubu politicized the state burial of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari to gain political mileage.
Presidential spokesman Sunday Dare dismissed the allegation as “nothing but an opportunistic exercise in manufactured outrage, a laughable tantrum by a poorly amalgamated political contraption desperately clutching at straws for relevance it will never attain.”
He said it was not the first time the ADC had “embarrassed itself with hollow, attention-seeking criticisms and press releases.”
“In its pitiful, stuttering attempts at reinvention, the ADC has repeatedly presumed to lecture the President of the Federal Republic on governance, decorum, and public accountability. How utterly ridiculous,” Dare said.
He added that since its formation, the ADC had been issuing “disjointed press statements on every passing event to remind Nigerians it now exists.”
“In its desperation to look like an opposition party, it has now crossed every known line of decency,” he said.
Dare said the ADC’s latest statement alleging that Tinubu’s government exploited Buhari’s death for political gain was dishonest and an insult to millions of Nigerians who genuinely mourned the former president.
“Let it be said clearly: the ADC is the one exploiting Buhari’s death for political attention, not this government. They have chosen to dance on his grave for relevance,” he said.
He also described the presence of opposition figures like Atiku Abubakar and Nasir El-Rufai in Daura during the burial as “choreographed,” saying they were greeted by chants aimed at making political capital from a solemn moment.
“For clarity, President Tinubu’s administration is neither desperate nor searching for cheap popularity,” he said, insisting the government’s achievements speak louder than “the noisy irrelevance of groups like the ADC.”
He listed the achievements of the Tinubu administration as the stabilization of the naira through exchange rate harmonization; an increase in oil production to 1.7 million barrels per day; over 60% increase in FAAC allocations; restoration of salary and pension payments in 31 previously debt-stricken states; and the decoupling of the naira from oil market volatility.
Other highlights, according to Dare, include the restoration of electricity to long-neglected communities; the delivery of infrastructure such as the Ogbia-Nembe Road, Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, and Sokoto-Badagry Road; over 400,000 beneficiaries of the NELFUND scheme; establishment of regional development commissions; and the launch of a Consumer Credit Scheme to lay the foundation for a credit-based economy and tackle corruption at its root.
Dare urged the ADC to focus on resolving its internal crises, saying Nigerians were not deceived by “venomous statements” that cannot erase the evident progress made by the Tinubu administration.
“Governance continues, Nigeria is stable, and President Tinubu remains focused on delivering the Renewed Hope Agenda, not on dignifying the desperate antics of political scavengers,” he concluded.
