Ex- Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has slammed President Bola Tinubu for blaming opposition parties for the hunger and hardship confronting Nigerians, saying the administration should take responsibility for its economic record.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), spoke through his Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in reaction to Tinubu’s remarks at the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna on Saturday.
Tinubu had accused opposition parties of creating the hunger and poverty affecting Nigerians and appealed to voters to support his administration’s bid for a second term in the 2027 presidential election. 
But Atiku described the President’s position as “delusion or a staggering case of political amnesia,” insisting that the APC had been in control of the Federal Government for more than a decade.
“The APC governed Nigeria for eight years before you took office. You have added another three and a half years. Nigerians know who has been in power, and hardship did not begin when the opposition started talking about it.
“Stop insulting their intelligence and answer for your record,” Atiku said.
The former vice-president accused the Tinubu administration of worsening the cost-of-living crisis, citing rising food prices, transport fares, electricity costs and declining purchasing power.
He also criticised the government over the removal of the petrol subsidy and the depreciation of the naira, which he said had fallen from about N471 to N1,329 to the dollar.
Atiku further cited a World Bank projection that 63 per cent of Nigerians would be living below the national poverty line in 2026, using the figure to question the government’s economic policies.
He demanded explanations over the extension of the 2024 budget into 2025 alongside a separate 2025 budget, as well as expenditure figures he attributed to “energy security” and NNPC pipeline-related spending.
The ADC candidate also questioned what he described as a $12.4 billion gap in Nigeria’s external accounts in the first half of 2026 and the payment of $22.5 million in “other charges” linked to an Abu Dhabi financing facility.
Atiku urged the Federal Government to account for the funds and explain the projects and services delivered with the money.
However, the financial figures and their interpretation could not be independently verified from the claims contained in the statement.
The former vice-president also criticised Tinubu’s planned inauguration of a section of the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, saying the government should focus on completing projects and delivering tangible improvements rather than celebrating them through ceremonies.
“A road cannot be completed with a speech or a ribbon-cutting ceremony,” he said.
On security, Atiku accused the administration of failing to adequately address killings, kidnappings and mass displacement, saying insecurity had compounded the economic hardship faced by Nigerians.
“You cannot govern for three years, make life harder, and then blame others for describing the hardship. You asked who created the hunger. Nigerians are asking what you have done to end it,” he said.
Atiku said the 2027 presidential election would provide Nigerians with an opportunity to assess Tinubu’s performance, arguing that voters would judge the administration based on their living conditions rather than campaign promises.
“The people will judge your government by the lives they are living, not by the excuses you offer at campaign rallies,” he said.
He predicted that dissatisfaction with the administration would be reflected at the polls in 2027.
