The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADCPCC) has challenged Vice President Kashim Shettima’s claim that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu rescued Nigeria from economic collapse.
The council argued that the Tinubu administration cannot separate itself from the record of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a statement on Sunday, ADC PCC Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, said Shettima’s claim that Nigeria was heading towards “Caracas” before Tinubu assumed office was an indictment of the previous APC administration.
Ologbondiyan said if the country was truly heading towards economic collapse before Tinubu became president, then the APC should accept responsibility because it governed Nigeria for eight years under Buhari.
“Vice President Shettima’s statement is self-indicting. If Nigeria was heading to Caracas under Buhari, it means Buhari and the APC deceived Nigerians for eight years,” he said.
He questioned why Nigerians should trust Tinubu’s administration, arguing that the president and Buhari belonged to the same political platform and had defended the previous government’s achievements.
The ADC spokesman said the APC could not reject its own history, recalling that Tinubu had promised to build on Buhari’s legacy when he assumed office.
According to him, attempts by the current administration to distance itself from Buhari’s government amounted to an admission that the APC had failed Nigerians.
Ologbondiyan accused the APC government of poor performance in areas including infrastructure, electricity, public institutions, security and the rising cost of living.
He said ordinary Nigerians were more concerned about affordable food and basic needs than political arguments, adding that the country was already facing severe economic hardship.
“President Tinubu has not saved Nigeria from collapse; he has pushed the country deeper into economic ruin, marked by unprecedented hunger, hyperinflation, naira devaluation, insecurity, mass unemployment and excruciating cost of living,” he said.
The ADC PCC also criticised the planned introduction of electric tricycles, buses and taxis under an e-logistics programme, urging Nigerians to judge the government by its actions rather than promises.
The council called on Nigerians to support what it described as a credible political alternative, saying the ADC remained committed to providing solutions that would improve living conditions and restore economic confidence.