ADC Says Tinubu’s Sudden Reform Push is Driven by Fear, not Leadership

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of responding to political pressure rather than genuine concern for the Nigerian people, following the government’s recent announcement to address food security and export challenges.

The party described the Tinubu-led government as one marked by “calculated incompetence,” claiming that its latest reform agenda is driven by fear of a united opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Reacting to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, who said the administration would eliminate bottlenecks hindering food production and export, the ADC expressed doubt over the sincerity of the move.

In a press release signed by its Interim National Publicity Secretary and spokesperson for the opposition coalition, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said:

“On Saturday, when Bayo Onanuga tweeted before the world that, moving forward, all bottlenecks hindering ‘the realization of the Tinubu administration’s potential’ would be removed to enable food sovereignty and export, he didn’t just issue a statement, he issued a confession. A confession that this government had, by design, been sitting on its hands while Nigerians starved. Now, under mounting political pressure, they want applause for doing the bare minimum? This is not reform. This is not leadership. This is a scramble for survival by an administration that has been cornered by its own failures.”

The party said the growing influence of the ADC and other opposition coalitions is the real reason for the government’s sudden policy announcements.

“Let us make one thing clear, it took the emergence of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the growing momentum of a united opposition to push this government into action. It wasn’t the hunger of hundreds of millions of Nigerians that moved them, it was fear. Fear of the 2027 elections. Fear that Nigerians have woken up. Fear that, with a united opposition, 2027 will be a clearcut election between the APC and the Nigerian people,” the statement added.

The ADC also accused the APC of weaponizing poverty and questioned why the government had delayed making necessary interventions.

“Make no mistake, the APC has been deliberately weaponizing poverty. After Bayo Onanuga’s statement that they would no longer delay in removing bottlenecks that had hindered food security, the only conclusion possible from that statement is that the government had deliberately sat on its hands and watched Nigerians starve in the last two years.”

Challenging the administration to provide answers, the ADC said: “We must all begin to ask this government the obvious questions: If the bottlenecks that Onanuga alluded to in his press statement could have been removed earlier, why did they keep them in place while millions went hungry and businesses collapsed? Was it so they could stage a last-minute, propaganda-driven performance closer to the 2027 elections?”

The opposition party said it sees a pattern in the administration’s actions and believes they are politically motivated.

“This is a pattern. This is a strategy. This is not a government reacting to an urgent national crisis, it is a political machine managing optics. Every move they have made has been about political calculation ahead of 2027. Nigerians, shine your eyes,” the ADC warned.

According to Abdullahi, President Tinubu is more focused on campaigning for re-election than governing the country.

“The President is not governing. He is campaigning, two years early, because he knows he’s in trouble. He knows Nigerians have had enough. And the worst part? He is risking the country’s future, all in the name of his re-election bid. Onanuga’s declaration is not about food security or economic diplomacy — this is about politics and 2027.”

The ADC concluded by urging Nigerians to remain vigilant.

“The ADC calls on all Nigerians, do not be swayed by choreographed press releases and sudden awakenings. This is not governance. This is desperation,” the statement read.