…Says Governance Not For Internally Displaced Politicians
The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has lambasted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) over its claim that President Bola Tinubu is engaging in early campaigns ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The ADC, on Thursday, alleged that despite the nation being under a state of emergency, President Tinubu had begun his 2027 re-election campaign.
The party described the move as cynically insensitive, arguing that it undermines the very essence of the emergency declaration.
“The African Democratic Congress is deeply appalled by reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has distributed fleets of Hilux trucks, Land Cruisers, and Hummer buses to political agents across the country, thereby effectively kick-starting his 2027 re-election bid.
“Coming at a time when Nigeria remains under a declared state of emergency due to the worsening crisis of insecurity, this action confirms that the President’s declaration of a security emergency was a mere gimmick to grab newspaper headlines and means nothing to a President whose priority remains his re-election.
“While ordinary citizens are being kidnapped, displaced, and killed, the President is handing out branded vehicles and building a partisan mobilisation structure,” a statement by the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi read.
But reacting to the allegations on Friday, the APC spokesperson in Lagos, Seye Oladejo, said the President is fully focused on governance and addressing urgent national security challenges, not electioneering as alleged by the ADC.
Oladejo dismissed the ADC’s comments as “infantile rant” from a political organisation he described as lacking structure, ideas and electoral value.
According to him, the party’s criticisms stem from a misunderstanding of leadership and the responsibilities of the Presidency.
“For clarity, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is governing Nigeria, not campaigning.
“But we understand why the ADC is confused: leadership is a language they neither understand nor speak,” Oladejo said in a statement.
The APC accused the ADC of attempting to weaponise national security concerns for political gain, insisting that the Tinubu administration continues to take decisive steps to strengthen the nation’s security architecture.
Oladejo listed several actions taken by the President, including deployment of additional personnel, expansion of intelligence infrastructure, removal of long-standing operational bottlenecks, and direct oversight of rescue missions.
He said it was shameful that the ADC, which he claimed had no history of contributing one actionable idea to national security, now sought to politicise the issue.
“A party that has never contributed one actionable idea to national security should not insult Nigerians by pretending to care now.
“When the nation was bleeding from the 16-year misrule of its political ancestors, where was the ADC’s voice?” he said.
The APC further accused the ADC of dragging the 2027 elections into every national discourse, arguing that only a party with no pathway to power displays such desperation two years ahead of the polls.
“It is always amusing that a party struggling for survival is the one crying most loudly about 2027.
“Only parties with no pathway to power carry election fever two years ahead. The APC is governing; the ADC is daydreaming. The contrast is glaring,” Oladejo stated.
He advised the ADC to first focus on stabilising its internal structure before attempting to lecture the ruling party or the President on governance.
“Win one polling unit in Lagos. Hold one successful congress without dissolving into quarrels, (and) prove to Nigerians that your party is not just about the lifelong ambition of one man,” he said.
Oladejo stressed that Tinubu remains committed to restoring security and steering Nigeria through current challenges, adding that no amount of politics from the ADC will derail the President’s mandate.
“Nigeria is moving forward – with or without the approval of political spectators,” the statement added.