2027: ADC slams APC over early ‘campaigns’ for Tinubu

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA – The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of violating Nigeria’s electoral laws by launching premature re-election campaigns for President Bola Tinubu, while the country grapples with deepening economic and security crises.

In a statement on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC condemned the APC for erecting billboards, organising rallies, and engineering endorsements for Tinubu’s second-term bid, despite a clear warning from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that campaigning remains illegal until 150 days before the 2027 general elections.

“For several months, APC organs have staged rallies and erected billboards endorsing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term. These theatrics brazenly ignore the Electoral Act and the fresh warning issued by INEC,” Abdullahi said.

The ADC said the APC’s premature campaign efforts reveal a misplaced priority, as ordinary Nigerians continue to suffer from spiralling inflation, a weakening currency, and worsening insecurity.

Citing official figures, Abdullahi noted that headline inflation reached nearly 35 percent in December 2023 and remains above 22 percent, while the naira has depreciated from N461 to over N1,500 to the dollar since Tinubu assumed office.

“Prices have galloped beyond the reach of ordinary citizens. 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,” he stated.

The ADC also drew attention to Nigeria’s ballooning debt burden. Quoting projections by the World Bank, the party said debt servicing now exceeds total federal revenue, leaving little room for meaningful investment in education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Turning to security, the ADC described kidnapping as an ‘industry,’ citing over 3,132 security-related killings between April and June 2024 alone.

“Nigerians are being abducted at an industrial scale while President Tinubu chases after adoption for a second term,” the statement added.

The party further criticised the APC’s handling of the power sector, citing recurring national grid collapses, and accused the administration of failing to address corruption and curbing press freedom.

“Under the APC, Nigerians are hungry, sick, and scared. Instead of finding real solutions to these problems as they promised to do, the government has been busy building an army of digital propagandists and illusion creators,” Abdullahi said.

Calling for an immediate halt to what it described as an ‘unlawful campaign machinery,’ the ADC urged the APC to refocus its efforts on governing effectively.

“Every political billboard is a billboard of illegality and should be removed. The ADC will continue to hold the government accountable in the public square and, when the time comes, at the ballot box,” Abdullahi declared.

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