2027: Tinubu’s biggest opponent is his own record — Atiku

Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has urged President Bola Tinubu to concentrate on tackling Nigeria’s economic and security challenges instead of attacking opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general election.

Atiku said the president’s biggest political challenge is the performance of his own administration, not the opposition.

The former vice-president made the remarks in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in response to Tinubu’s comments that opposition politicians were “crying wolf” over alleged favouritism ahead of the 2027 elections because they were “afraid of their own shadows.”

President Tinubu made the remarks on Tuesday while receiving the leadership of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), led by Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso of Kaduna, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

During the meeting, the president assured the bishops that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would conduct free, fair and credible elections in 2027, stressing that all political parties would be given equal opportunities.

Reacting, Atiku described Tinubu’s comments as “the lamentation of a drowning man,” accusing the president of choosing political rhetoric over addressing the country’s pressing problems.

He said Nigerians expected assurances on electoral credibility following the bishops’ appeal for peaceful and transparent elections, rather than criticism of the opposition.

According to Atiku, the president should instead focus on rising inflation, widespread hunger, insecurity, unemployment, exchange rate instability and declining investor confidence.

“The president should wrestle with the millions of Nigerians who now skip meals because food has become a luxury.

“He should wrestle with the insecurity that has turned farming communities into graveyards and highways into hunting grounds for criminals.

“He should wrestle with the unemployment that has robbed an entire generation of hope. He should wrestle with an economy suffocating under policy inconsistency, reckless borrowing and dwindling investor confidence,” he said.

The former vice-president argued that political statements would not solve the hardship facing Nigerians.

“A government that has little to celebrate inevitably seeks refuge in chest-thumping. But Nigerians are no longer interested in political performances. They are interested in performance in government,” Atiku stated.

He added that “empty slogans cannot fill empty stomachs,” insisting that attacks on political opponents would neither reduce the cost of living nor strengthen the naira.

Atiku maintained that Tinubu’s record in office would determine his political fate.

“His greatest opponent is his own record. Every unpaid worker, every struggling business, every unemployed graduate, every victim of insecurity and every hungry family is a living testimony to the consequences of his administration’s choices. That is the contest he has consistently failed to win,” he said.

He further described democracy as “a marketplace of ideas and accountability,” urging the president to spend the remainder of his tenure addressing the country’s challenges instead of engaging in what he called unnecessary political battles.

“The Nigerian people are not looking for a wrestler. They are looking for a leader. History will not remember who shouted the loudest. It will remember who governed the best,” Atiku added.

The African Democratic Congress also criticised the president’s remarks.

In a separate statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said elections are won through good governance rather than political rhetoric. It urged Tinubu to focus on addressing terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and the country’s worsening economic situation instead of attacking the opposition.