The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has berated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reported decision not to campaign across all states of the federation, describing it as an act of arrogance, contempt and a grave insult to the Nigerian people.
The ADC-PCC maintained that the reported decision exposes the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s disdain for ordinary Nigerians, insisting that a president seeking re-election should be willing to face the electorate, account for his stewardship and present his plans for the country’s future.
The council also declared that the ADC had emerged politically strengthened following the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, noting that the event failed to attract endorsements from members or sympathisers of the ADC.
The Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC-PCC, Kola Ologbondiyan, stated these while receiving a delegation of youths under the aegis of Young Voters for Atiku (YVA).
Ologbondiyan argued that Tinubu’s reported reluctance to campaign across the country would provide a significant advantage to the ADC presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, whom he described as fully prepared to traverse the length and breadth of Nigeria to engage citizens and present his manifesto for national recovery.
He stressed that Atiku was physically energetic, mentally alert and ready to visit all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to seek the people’s mandate.
“What President Tinubu has done is a clear act of contempt against the Nigerian people. The APC is known for its contempt for Nigerians. How can a man who wants to be re-elected as president, after failing woefully, say he does not want to visit the people he seeks to govern? It is an aberration of norm,”Ologbondiyan said.
The ADC-PCC spokesman also dismissed the suggestion that official engagements could prevent the president from campaigning nationwide, describing the explanation as unconvincing and insisting that the real issue was the administration’s record in office as well as other reasons which Nigerians believe is personal to Mr President.
“Saying that he (Tinubu) will be attending to official assignments is untrue, fake, deceitful and insincere. Didn’t former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari attend to official duties while campaigning for their return tickets? Didn’t Donald Trump campaign? Didn’t Kamala Harris campaign? Why is Tinubu’s case different?” he queried.
Ologbondiyan further accused Tinubu of treating Nigerians with levity, arguing that a president who is unwilling to engage directly with voters should reconsider his ambition for a second term.
“President Tinubu has taken Nigerian for a joke and should not seek re-election. A president who is afraid to face his own people has no business asking for their votes,” he declared.
According to him, seeking a renewed mandate requires humility, accountability and a willingness to engage citizens on the state of the nation.
He added that Tinubu’s reported decision to avoid campaigning nationwide reinforced the perception that the APC had taken Nigerians for granted.
Ologbondiyan further alleged that the president was reluctant to face the electorate because of widespread public dissatisfaction over hunger, poverty, insecurity and the state of the economy.
“He knows Nigerians are hungry and angry. He knows that the average Nigerian finds it difficult to eat and to be secure. He has failed on all fronts, so he is afraid to face Nigerians. He is running away from the reality he created,” he asserted.
