By: Goodluck E. Adubazi, Abuja.

The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADCPCC) has challenged Vice President Kashim Shettima’s claim that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu saved Nigeria from economic collapse, saying the current dministration cannot distance itself from the record of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The council argued that Shettima’s assertion that Nigeria was heading towards “Caracas” before Tinubu assumed office amounted to an indictment of the Buhari administration, which, like the Tinubu government, was elected on the platform of the APC.

The position was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Kola Ologbondiyan.

Ologbondiyan accused Shettima of attempting to rewrite the history of the APC in an effort to defend what he described as the failures of the Tinubu administration.

He said if Nigeria was indeed heading towards economic collapse before Tinubu took office, as claimed by the Vice President, then the APC must accept responsibility for the situation because it controlled the Federal Government for eight years under Buhari.

“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.

“And if that is the case, why should Nigerians believe Tinubu, who is of the same APC stock and was a major promoter and defender of the Buhari administration?” Ologbondiyan queried.

The ADC spokesman said the APC could not disown its own record, recalling that Tinubu had repeatedly defended the Buhari administration and promised to build on its legacy.

According to him, attempts by Tinubu and Shettima to distance the present administration from Buhari amounted to an admission that the APC had failed Nigerians.

“But Nigerians do not know Buhari as an individual; Nigerians know APC. It is the APC, on whose platform President Tinubu is seeking a second term, that has failed Nigerians for almost 12 years and is undeserving of another four years,” he said.

Ologbondiyan also accused the APC administration of failing across several sectors, including roads, electricity and public institutions, while the rising cost of living continued to place pressure on Nigerians.

He said the immediate concern of ordinary Nigerians was not political propaganda but access to affordable food and basic necessities.

“Our roads are no longer motorable, there is no electricity, our institutions have collapsed. But what concerns ordinary Nigerians today is food, food and food, not baseless propaganda.

“President Tinubu has not saved Nigeria from collapse; he has pushed the country deeper into economic ruin, marked by unprecedented hunger, hyperinflation, naira devaluation, insecurity, mass unemployment and excruciating cost of living,” he said.

The ADC campaign council spokesman further rejected Shettima’s description of Nigeria as merely heading towards a “Caracas” scenario, insisting that Nigerians were already experiencing what he described as the consequences of APC policies.

“Nigerians are not heading to Caracas; under the APC, Nigerians are already living the Caracas experience in their own country,” Ologbondiyan said.

He also criticised Shettima’s promise to deploy 10,600 electric tricycles, 300 buses and electric taxis under an e-logistics programme “in the coming weeks”, describing it as another promise that should be treated with caution.

Ologbondiyan reminded the Vice President of the administration’s earlier promise that transportation costs would come down by October 1, 2026, urging Nigerians to assess the government based on its delivery rather than fresh promises.

The ADCPCC called on Shettima and the APC to stop what it described as attempts to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians through revisionist narratives and instead acknowledge the economic challenges confronting the country.

The council reaffirmed the ADC’s commitment to providing what it described as a credible political alternative capable of rescuing Nigeria from prolonged APC rule.

Ologbondiyan urged Nigerians to unite behind the quest for a government that would make life more affordable, restore economic security and rebuild confidence in the country.