Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has berated President Bola Tinubu for blaming the opposition for hunger and poverty in the country.

Atiku described the claim as an act of self-deceit and a shameless attempt to dodge responsibility for the hardship Nigerians are facing.

In a statement issued on Friday, October 24, 2026, by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku said a President cannot introduce policies that inflict hardship and then blame the opposition for the outcome.

“Mr President, blaming the opposition for hunger is either self-deceit or a serious case of political amnesia. The APC governed Nigeria for eight years before you assumed office. You have added another three and a half years,” Atiku said.

He noted that commissioning the uncompleted Abuja-Kaduna Expressway from inside a stadium shows how disconnected the administration is from daily realities.

“A road cannot be finished with speeches and ribbon-cutting,” he said.

Atiku then raised a series of questions which he said Nigerians are asking:

“Which administration removed fuel subsidy and watched the naira fall from about ₦471 to ₦1,329 to the dollar? Which administration presided over rising poverty that made the World Bank project that 63 per cent of Nigerians will be below the national poverty line in 2026?

“Which administration recorded ₦7.13 trillion under ‘energy security’ in 2024 and is being questioned over ₦11.2 trillion in NNPC pipeline-related expenditure? Which administration should explain the $12.4 billion gap flagged in Nigeria’s external accounts for the first half of 2026?”

He added: “You cannot govern for three years, make life harder, and then blame others for pointing out the hardship. The people will judge your government by the lives they live, not by the excuses you give at campaign rallies. The 2027 presidential election will be a referendum on your record.”