The Presidency has rebuked the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for its criticism of the state burial accorded to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The comments by the opposition party was described as “opportunistic, obnoxious, and desperate.”
Recall that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of using the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari as a “political tool to launder its battered image”.
The opposition party described the special federal executive council (FEC) meeting held in Buhari’s honour as “political theatre”.
This was contained in a statement on Friday by Bolaji Abdullahi, interim national publicity secretary of the ADC, saying the FEC tribute was a “calculated PR stunt”.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Saturday, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, said the ADC had once again embarrassed itself with “hollow, attention-seeking criticisms” that insult the dignity of a nation in mourning.
The presidential spokesman described the ADC as a party suffering from an identity crisis and accused it of “dancing on Buhari’s grave for relevance.”
“This is not the first time the ADC — in its pitiful, stuttering attempts at reinvention — has embarrassed itself with hollow, attention-seeking criticisms and press releases. A party still grappling with an identity crisis presumes lecturing the President of the Federal Republic on governance, decorum, and public accountability. How utterly ridiculous,” the statement read.
It condemned the party’s claim that the Tinubu-led administration used the solemn occasion for political mileage, insisting instead, that the burial was conducted with full honours befitting a former Head of State.
“Let it be said clearly: the ADC is the one exploiting Buhari’s death for political attention, not this government. They have chosen to dance on his grave for relevance. From (Abubakar) Atiku and (Nasir) El-Rufai’s choreographed arrival in Daura — greeted with chants seeking to make political capital from the solemnity of the moment — to this disgraceful press statement, the ADC has shown itself to be utterly shameless,” Dare said.
Highlighting the achievements of the Tinubu administration, the presidential aide noted that the government prefers to let its “results” speak for themselves rather than respond to “the noisy irrelevance” of opposition groups.
He listed a number of initiatives under Tinubu, including naira stabilisation, increased oil production, harmonised exchange rates, restored electricity to neglected communities, and the rollout of major infrastructure projects such as the Ogbia-Nembe Road and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
“About 400,000 students are already benefiting from the NELFUND loan scheme. We have launched a Consumer Credit Scheme, created regional development commissions, and increased FAAC allocations by over 60%. These are not press statements. These are results,” he maintained.
The statement added that the ADC, plagued by internal crises and legal battles, had nothing to offer Nigerians beyond “sanctimonious whining.”
“If the ADC spent merely half the time it uses on press releases to handle issues from its disenchanted members, the party wouldn’t grapple with many legal problems,” Dare remarked.
It concluded by urging Nigerians to disregard what he described as “political noise” from “an outfit gasping for attention.”
“President Tinubu honoured Buhari with dignity in death and continues to honour his legacy through hard work, not hollow words. Governance continues, Nigeria is stable, and President Tinubu remains focused on delivering the Renewed Hope Agenda, not on dignifying the desperate antics of political scavengers,” the statement said.
