RismadarVoice Reporters
October 4, 2026
The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council has criticised Vice President Kashim Shettima’s claim that President Bola Tinubu rescued Nigeria from economic collapse, arguing that the statement also raises questions about the record of the All Progressives Congress under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The council said Shettima’s description of Nigeria as having been “on the road to Caracas” before Tinubu’s economic reforms amounted to an indictment of the APC administration that governed the country for eight years under Buhari.
Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Kola Ologbondiyan, made the argument in a statement on Sunday.
Ologbondiyan said the APC could not distance itself from the economic record of the Buhari administration while simultaneously defending its years in government.
“Vice President Shettima’s statement is self-indicting. If Nigeria was heading to Caracas under Buhari, it means Buhari and the APC deceived Nigerians for eight years,” he said.
Shettima had said after meeting Tinubu in Lagos on Saturday that the President inherited an economy that was “teetering on the verge of collapse” and took difficult decisions that, in his assessment, prevented a deeper crisis.
The Vice President cited the removal of petrol subsidy and changes to the foreign exchange system among the administration’s major economic measures.
He also acknowledged the economic difficulties facing Nigerians and said the Federal Government was introducing programmes aimed at easing the pressure on households.
The ADC campaign council, however, rejected the administration’s assessment of its economic performance, arguing that Nigerians were more concerned about the cost of food, transportation, electricity and other basic needs.
Ologbondiyan accused the APC of attempting to separate the current administration from the economic record of its predecessor despite the party having controlled the Federal Government since 2015.
He also blamed the Tinubu administration for what the opposition described as worsening inflation, naira depreciation, unemployment, insecurity and cost-of-living pressures.
“President Tinubu has not saved Nigeria from collapse; he has pushed the country deeper into economic ruin,” Ologbondiyan said.
The statement represents the ADC campaign council’s assessment of the administration’s economic record, which the Federal Government disputes.
The council also questioned the administration’s planned deployment of 10,600 electric tricycles alongside 300 buses and electric taxis under an e-logistics programme.
Shettima said the vehicles would form part of measures aimed at reducing transportation difficulties and cushioning economic hardship, particularly in the North-East.
The ADC campaign council questioned how significantly the initiative would reduce the financial pressure facing Nigerians and urged the government to focus on measures capable of producing broader improvements in living conditions.
It also called on the APC to acknowledge the economic challenges confronting citizens as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Tinubu administration has maintained that its economic reforms, despite their immediate impact on households, are necessary to stabilise the economy and create conditions for longer-term growth.
