The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai of being driven by desperation to return to power. This comes after the three men criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration during Amaechi’s 60th birthday celebration in Abuja on May 31.
During the event, Amaechi lamented the state of the economy, saying, “We’re all hungry; all of us are. If you’re not hungry, I am. For us, the opposition, if you want us to remove the man in power, we can remove him from this power.”
Atiku, El-Rufai, and Amaechi had also accused the Tinubu administration of failing to address poverty, claiming the government was instead “weaponising” it.
In a statement signed by APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka, the ruling party dismissed the claims, saying the criticisms were motivated by frustration and a desire to regain lost political influence.
“These three individuals have occupied Nigeria’s highest political offices between 1999 and 2023, either as vice president, governors, or ministers,” Morka said. “In all 24 years, the trio, individually or collectively, could not and did not eradicate poverty in their states or the country.”
He added, “They did not even attempt to address, let alone tackle, the structural challenges and distortions that stifled the economy and worsened poverty over the years.”
Morka described the remarks at the birthday event as a “frenzied” gathering of “displaced rent-seekers” who, according to him, misused their time in office and are now uncomfortable with Tinubu’s economic reforms.
Focusing on Amaechi, Morka said, “That’s about a quarter of a century of freeloading by Amaechi on state resources, with absolutely no record of attempting to combat poverty in his Rivers State or the country. When Amaechi declared, ‘I am hungry,’ he must mean, and must be understood to mean, that he is hungry and desperate to return to his felt entitled dependency on state resources and patronage.”
Morka accused the three men of engaging in corrupt practices, selling national assets to cronies, and sponsoring violence during their time in power.
He also criticized their stance on the current state of the naira and poverty. “The erstwhile artificially overvalued naira stifled local production, encouraged import dependency, and exacerbated poverty,” Morka said.
He pointed to Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, saying both benefitted from the previous economic structure they now criticize. “Atiku, a former customs officer, and Obi, a successful importer, reaped enormous benefits from the old system,” he said. “Their criticisms reek of special interest masqueraded as concern for the people.”
According to Morka, Tinubu’s economic reforms are aimed at creating a more productive and fair system. He stated that the government has ended wasteful subsidies and harmonized exchange rates to encourage investment and reduce corruption.
He added that reforms are already producing results in agriculture, oil and gas, manufacturing, and other sectors. Morka also claimed that higher minimum wages are now being paid in many states due to increased government revenue.
“Entrepreneurs, farmers, and service providers are thriving, while rent-seekers like Amaechi and his coalition partners are left seething with rage at the disruption of their ability to milk the system for personal gain,” he said.
He argued that the economy is experiencing growth, citing a 4.6 percent growth rate in the last quarter of 2024, the highest in ten years, despite declining global oil prices.
Morka said this growth reflects a broader shift toward production and self-sufficiency, with local industries expanding and import dependency declining. He cited examples such as the Dangote Refinery and manufacturing growth in the South East as evidence of progress.
He concluded that President Tinubu remains focused on long-term solutions, despite short-term hardships. “The administration’s reforms may have transient higher cost of living implications, but they are indispensable to securing a more sustainable economy that rewards hard work, innovation, and entrepreneurship.”
The APC urged Nigerians to ignore what it described as “selfish partisan rambling of some hardened political opportunists and economic exploiters.”
