The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the constituted 2027 Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu describing it as a “rehabilitation centre” for individuals facing unresolved corruption allegations.
This was even as the ADC emphasised that the 2027 election would serve as a referendum on Tinubu’s first-term performance, stressing that the President’s political allies could not campaign their way out of the economic difficulties confronting Nigerians.
The ADC particularly took a swipe at the inclusion of the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu and the former chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, Ngozi Olejeme in the President Tinubu campaign structure.
These were contained in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi in which he challenged the Federal Government to disclose whether the cases involving the two former officials and other individuals named in the campaign council have been resolved.
Edu was suspended by President Tinubu in 2024 following controversy over an alleged directive to transfer N585 million in public funds to a private account while Olejeme faced prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged financial offences.
The ADC said that if the two former public officers have been cleared, the government should show how and when and by whom they were cleared.
Abdullahi said that corruption investigations involving politically connected individuals under the Tinubu administration were often allowed to fade from public attention before the individuals resurfaced in political or official positions.
According to the ADC; “The President may assemble his old friends and political allies, including those carrying unresolved corruption questions, but all of their collective brooms cannot sweep away the grave pains they have brought on the Nigerian people”.
It stressed that while the rising food prices, poverty and the cost of living are serious challenges confronting Nigerians, on the other hand, politically connected individuals particularly public office holders are enjoying “obscene opulence”.
The opposition political party renewed its call for targeted fuel-production subsidies, stressing that the measure could help reduce petrol prices and ease pressure on households and businesses.
ADC explained that its proposed subsidy framework would be capped, budgeted and independently audited, with mechanisms to ensure that public funds and crude allocations were traceable.
While reacting to the Federal Government’s criticism of the proposal, the ADC tasked the administration to account for the consequences of its economic policies before arguing that the country could not afford to support struggling Nigerians.
The ADC described the proposal as part of the “Atiku solution” to addressing Nigeria’s economic hardship.
