The Presidency has called the latest outburst from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) regarding the state burial of Muhammadu Buhari, the former President a laughable tantrum.
The ADC had earlier hit out at President Bola Tinubu’s government for exploiting the death and burial of Buhari for political gains.
Bolaji Abdullahi, the Interim National Publicity Secretary of the ADC in a statement on Friday said Tinubu’s government is only whitewashing its battered image with Buhari’s death, calling it a cynical and opportunistic attempt.
The coalition party in the statement also condemned the choreographed Federal Executive Council (FEC) tribute and the publicised appearance of Buhari’s grieving son, Yusuf, as “a calculated public relations (PR) stunt by an unpopular government.”
Reacting on Saturday, Sunday Dare, the Special Adviser, Media & Public Communication/Spokesperson to President Tinubu said the latest outburst from the ADC regarding Buhari’s state burial is nothing but an opportunistic exercise in manufactured outrage, a laughable tantrum by a poorly amalgamated political contraption desperately clutching at straws for relevance it will never attain.
Dare said this is not the first time the ADC in its pitiful, stuttering attempts at reinvention has embarrassed itself with hollow, attention-seeking criticisms and press releases.
“A party still grappling with an identity crisis presumes lecturing the President of the Federal Republic on governance, decorum, and public accountability. How utterly ridiculous,” Dare wrote on his official X account.
“Since its emergence, the ADC has resorted to issuing disjointed press statements on every passing event to remind Nigerians it now exists. In its desperation to look like an opposition party, it has now crossed every known line of decency.
“Their latest press release, alleging that President Tinubu’s government is “exploiting” the passing of former President Muhammadu Buhari for political gain, is not only dishonest, it is an insult to millions of Nigerians who genuinely mourn the loss of a statesman, and who watched the state burial accorded Buhari with solemn respect and dignity.
“Let it be said clearly: the ADC is the one exploiting Buhari’s death for political attention, not this government. They have chosen to dance on his grave for relevance.”
According to Dare, from Abubakar Atiku and Nasir El Rufai’s choreographed arrival in Daura, Katsina State, greeted with chants seeking to make political capital from the solemnity of the moment to this disgraceful press statement, the ADC has shown itself to be utterly shameless.
For clarity, the former Sports Minister said that President Tinubu’s administration is neither desperate nor searching for cheap popularity.
He stated that Tinubu’s government would rather allow its growing list of achievements to speak louder than the noisy irrelevance of groups like the ADC.
Dare pointed out that the burial of former President Buhari was conducted with the complete honour befitting a leader of his stature.
He said that is why world leaders showed up, millions of Nigerians tuned in on television and across social media, and even ADC promoters were falling over themselves in Daura, prancing about the Buhari family compound like eager real estate agents scouting new territory.
“What does the ADC offer Nigerians beyond sanctimonious whining?
Absolutely nothing. If the ADC spent merely half the time it uses on press releases to handle issues from its disenchanted members, the party wouldn’t grapple with many legal problems,” Dare wrote.
“This party is consumed by internal squabbles, facing multiple court cases over its very existence, and reduced to issuing these baseless attacks to cling to the fringes of relevance. Are these strange bedfellows, ones to be taken seriously? No.”