The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) for what it described as premature and unlawful campaigning for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
The party warned that such actions undermine Nigeria’s democracy and mock the country’s deepening economic crisis.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, condemned the emergence of campaign billboards and endorsement rallies in favour of President Tinubu across several cities, despite the 2027 general election being more than a year away.
Abdullahi argued that the visible display of campaign materials and orchestrated endorsements in places like Abuja, Kano, Akure, Minna, and Port Harcourt constitute a clear violation of the Electoral Act, which bars public campaigning until 150 days before the poll. He also referenced recent warnings by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which reminded political actors to steer clear of premature electioneering.
The ADC further expressed concern that while the APC is focused on political theatrics, millions of Nigerians are battling record inflation, widespread insecurity, and economic hardship.
The statement reads:
For several months, APC organs have staged rallies and erected billboards endorsing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term. From the Abuja national caucus that proclaimed him “sole candidate,” to choreographed declarations in Port Harcourt, Minna, Kano, and Akure. These theatrics brazenly ignore the Electoral Act and the fresh warning issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission, which reminds every politician that public campaigning is illegal until one hundred and fifty days before polling day.
While the ruling party chants “four more years” and sings songs of a sinking mandate, prices have galloped beyond the reach of ordinary citizens. Headline inflation, already twenty-two percent in 2023, rocketed to a thirty-year high of almost thirty-five percent last December and still hovers above twenty-two percent today, meaning food, transport, and rent now cost roughly sixty percent more than they did at the time he took office. The naira has crumbled from about N461 to the dollar in early 2023 to well over N1,500, wiping out savings and strangling small enterprises. Petrol that once sold for N185 per litre before subsidy removal now averages more than N1,000, turning every journey to work or market into an exercise in anguish.