By Luminous Jannamike

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Monday declared that Nigerians, not former President Olusegun Obasanjo, would determine the outcome of the 2027 presidential election, accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of hiding behind attacks on its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to avoid accounting for President Bola Tinubu’s record on the economy, insecurity and the rising cost of living.

According to the opposition party, millions of Nigerians are more concerned about the hardship they face daily than political personalities, insisting that the real contest in 2027 will be over the Tinubu administration’s performance rather than anyone’s opinion of Atiku.

The position was contained in a statement by the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, who accused the APC of becoming increasingly desperate after Catholic Bishops criticised the state of the nation during their recent meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Rather than respond to the issues raised, he said, the ruling party had chosen to amplify Obasanjo’s remarks about Atiku while attacking those questioning its performance.

“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has observed the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s increasingly desperate obsession with our presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

“Unable to defend its catastrophic record after the Catholic Bishops laid bare the true state of the nation during their recent meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu the APC has shamelessly seized on comments by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in a desperate attempt to shift the national conversation and shift attention from their terrible performance in the last three years,” Abdullahi said.

The ADC also faulted the APC’s response to concerns over worsening poverty, insecurity and the soaring cost of living, accusing the party of attacking critics instead of addressing the issues they raised.

“We note how, rather than answer the Bishops’ concerns about worsening poverty, insecurity and the cost of living, the ruling party has chosen instead to attack the messengers, whose only offence is that they spoke truthfully and bursted their bubble of propaganda and self-deception,” the statement added.

The opposition party said the pattern had become the APC’s default response whenever respected Nigerians criticised the administration.

“This has become a familiar pattern. Whenever respected Nigerians point to the deepening poverty, worsening insecurity, rising cost of living, or the collapse of public confidence under this administration, the APC never answers for its record. Instead, it looks for someone to attack.

“Yesterday, it was the Catholic Bishops. Today, it is Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Tomorrow, it will be someone else,” the ADC said.

Turning to Obasanjo’s comments, the party maintained that while the former president was entitled to his personal opinion, such views could not erase what it described as the economic record of the administration in which Atiku served as vice president and Chairman of the National Economic Council.

“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is entitled to his personal opinion of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Every Nigerian, including former presidents, enjoys that democratic right. But opinions do not erase records,” it argued.

The statement said Nigeria experienced stronger economic growth, greater macroeconomic stability, stronger investor confidence and a more affordable cost of living during that period than under the current administration, adding that whatever political differences now existed between Obasanjo and Atiku, those achievements remained part of the country’s history.

The ADC further challenged the Federal Government to explain why food prices and the cost of basic necessities had continued to rise despite official claims of economic growth, why more Nigerians had fallen into poverty, why economic growth had failed to create jobs, why borrowing had continued to increase, why debt servicing now consumed a significant share of government revenue, and why many communities remained under constant threat from bandits, terrorists and kidnappers.

“It is time that the APC and their government took a break from attacking Atiku and the Bishops to answer a few important questions,” the statement said.

“Why has the prices of food and basic necessities continue to soar despite proclaimed economic growth? Why have more Nigerians fallen into poverty under your watch than at any other period in Nigeria’s history? Why have you failed to translate your so-called economic growth into jobs? Why have you borrowed more money than any other government in the nation’s history with nothing to show for it? Why is your government spending 69% of its revenue just to service debts… Can the APC explain why communities across the country continue to live under the constant threat of bandits, terrorists and kidnappers while hundreds are still held in kidnappers’ den?”

The ADC maintained that those, rather than political personalities or individual opinions, were the issues that would shape the 2027 presidential election.

“Ultimately, the election will not be decided by the opinion of any one individual. It will be decided by the lived experience of more than 200 million Nigerians who are poorer, more insecure, and more uncertain about their future than they were before the Tinubu administration took office,” the party said.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said the outcome of the 2027 presidential election will be decided by Nigerians, not by the personal opinion of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

In a statement issued on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of focusing on comments made by Obasanjo about the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, instead of responding to growing concerns over the country’s economic situation.

The party said the election would be determined by the daily experiences of Nigerians under the current administration, particularly on issues such as the economy, insecurity and the rising cost of living.

According to the party, the APC turned attention to Obasanjo’s remarks after Catholic Bishops criticised the state of the nation during their recent meeting with President Bola Tinubu.

“The APC has become obsessed with our presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Instead of defending its record after the Catholic Bishops spoke about the state of the nation, it has chosen to use former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s comments to divert attention from its performance over the last three years,” Abdullahi said.

The ADC also accused the ruling party of attacking critics rather than addressing the issues they raise.

“Whenever respected Nigerians speak about worsening poverty, insecurity, the rising cost of living or the loss of public confidence, the APC does not answer for its record. Instead, it looks for someone to attack. Yesterday it was the Catholic Bishops, today it is Atiku Abubakar, tomorrow it will be someone else,” the statement said.

On Obasanjo’s remarks, the opposition party said the former president was entitled to his personal views but argued that such opinions could not erase Atiku’s record in government.

“During the administration in which Atiku Abubakar served as Vice President and Chairman of the National Economic Council, Nigeria experienced stronger economic growth, greater investor confidence and a more affordable cost of living than it does under the current administration,” the party said.

The party also challenged the Federal Government to explain why food prices continue to rise despite claims of economic growth, why more Nigerians have fallen into poverty, why unemployment remains high, why government borrowing has increased and why insecurity continues in many parts of the country.

The ADC insisted that these issues, rather than the views of any individual, would shape the choice Nigerians make in the next presidential election.

“The 2027 presidential election will not be determined by the opinion of any individual but by the daily realities of over 200 million Nigerians who, today, are poorer, face greater insecurity and are more uncertain about their future than they were before the Tinubu administration came into office,” the party said.

The Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has warned that voters would not turn out in the 2027 general elections if Nigerians conclude that victory is already guaranteed for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.  

Speaking on Monday during a program on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, monitored by DAILY POST in Abeokuta, the Cardinal said perception matters as much as the vote itself.

He cautioned that belief in a predetermined outcome would discourage citizens and damage the legitimacy of any government that emerges.  

“My fear is that if it becomes very clear to Nigerians that no matter what happens, the APC will win, then most people won’t even bother to go to the election,” Onaiyekan said. “And even if the government, the real power wins, it will not bring a real victory actually. And it is not going to be possible to deliver good government.”  

The cleric stressed that restoring public confidence in the electoral process is critical to improving governance, stressing that democracy can only thrive where elections are genuinely free, fair and credible, and anything less produces poor leadership.  

“Genuine democracy is built on free and fair elections,” he said. “Any democracy that cannot do free, fair, and credible election cannot come up with good governance. Elections have consequences… Bad elections lead to bad governance and bad governance leads to misery among the people.”  

Onaiyekan lamented that Nigeria is yet to conduct a truly free and fair election, linking low voter turnout to widespread disillusionment and urged those in power to act urgently to restore trust ahead of 2027.

“It is in our interest and the government who has all the powers, to please make sure that the trust of the people in the electoral process is restored, so that we can get at least 50% of Nigerians voting,” he said.  

The Cardinal contrasted democratic rule with the military era, noting that elected leaders claim to govern in the people’s name and must therefore be held accountable.

“When we were under military regime, we didn’t talk about elections… Now we are with democracy, and the rulers say that they are ruling in our name. We can’t keep quiet when people claiming to be working in our name are not.”  

On the role of institutions, Onaiyekan said INEC’s neutrality alone is not enough, pointing to the conduct of security agencies during polls. According to him, intimidation undermines credibility of elections.

“Even if INEC is neutral, as you know, the election outcome is also affected by the activities and the performance of the security agents who claim to be securing the election, but who often end up intimidating people with sirens all over the place, which doesn’t happen in decent democracies.

“We are also talking about why it’s always difficult for INEC to even perform well, with all good intentions. The rules that guide these activities, there is a lot of room for improvement. We have been talking about reforming the electoral rules.”

He called for electoral reforms, particularly in how INEC leadership is appointed, maintaining that the current process for appointing the electoral body’s leadership raises concerns about impartiality and should be reviewed to reinforce public confidence in the electoral system.

“We know that the government in power appoints the INEC. We have to figure a way out of that because if the government in power appoints the INEC, then It’s difficult to have a fair game. Unless you have a very strong chairman of INEC who decides to stand up against all pressures,” he added.