The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has declared that the outcome of the 2027 presidential election will be determined by Nigerians based on their lived experiences, not by the personal opinion of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
In a statement issued on Monday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of shifting attention to Obasanjo’s recent remarks about the ADC’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, instead of addressing mounting concerns over Nigeria’s economic and security challenges.
According to the ADC, the APC resorted to discussing Obasanjo’s comments after Catholic Bishops criticised the state of the nation during a recent meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
“The APC has become obsessed with our presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Instead of defending its record after the Catholic Bishops spoke about the state of the nation, it has chosen to use former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s comments to divert attention from its performance over the last three years,” Abdullahi said.
The opposition party accused the APC of responding to criticism by attacking individuals rather than addressing the issues they raise.
“Whenever respected Nigerians speak about worsening poverty, insecurity, the rising cost of living or the loss of public confidence, the APC does not answer for its record. Instead, it looks for someone to attack. Yesterday it was the Catholic Bishops, today it is Atiku Abubakar, tomorrow it will be someone else,” the statement added.
Reacting to Obasanjo’s comments, the ADC maintained that the former president was entitled to his personal opinion but argued that such views could not diminish Atiku’s record in public office.
The party said that during the administration in which Atiku served as Vice President and Chairman of the National Economic Council, Nigeria recorded stronger economic growth, attracted greater investor confidence and enjoyed a more affordable cost of living than it does under the current administration.
The ADC also challenged the Federal Government to explain why food prices continue to rise despite claims of economic progress, why more Nigerians have fallen into poverty, why unemployment remains high, why government borrowing has increased, and why insecurity persists across many parts of the country.
It insisted that these issues—not the views of any individual—would shape the decision of voters in the 2027 presidential election.
“The 2027 presidential election will not be determined by the opinion of any individual but by the daily realities of over 200 million Nigerians who, today, are poorer, face greater insecurity and are more uncertain about their future than they were before the Tinubu administration came into office,” the statement concluded.
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