Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to personally stand before Nigerians and defend his administration’s economic record rather than hiding behind cabinet ministers, state governors, and political defectors campaigning for his re-election.
​Atiku insisted that political surrogates cannot shield the President from growing public anger over widespread economic hardship caused by three and a half years of contentious economic policies.
​The sharp rebuke came in an official press statement released on Thursday evening, October 15, 2026, issued in Abuja by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council.
​The former Vice President’s reaction followed reports suggesting that President Tinubu might skip a series of All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign rallies to focus on official governance duties, delegating campaign council members, state governors, and recent political defectors to lead the re-election drive across the country.
​”The people on his campaign council did not receive the mandate in 2023. Tinubu did. He made the promises. He took the decisions. He must face the questions,” Atiku asserted, arguing that governance should serve as the baseline for democratic accountability rather than a shield against public scrutiny.
​Addressing the impact of federal economic reforms, notably petrol subsidy removals and foreign exchange adjustments, Atiku highlighted the daily struggles faced by ordinary households:
​”He can fill every campaign stage in Nigeria. He cannot fill an empty pot with surrogates. He cannot send a politician into a market to persuade prices to fall.”
​Atiku urged the President to engage directly with voters through town halls and public forums to account for his tenure before soliciting a second mandate:
​”Let him look a mother in the eye and explain what his government has done to make food affordable. Let him tell pensioners why they cannot afford their medicines. Let him explain to young Nigerians why years of study and hard work have still not brought them decent jobs.”
​Taking aim at recent statements from the presidency prioritizing international debt obligations, Atiku added: “Tinubu says American creditors cannot wait. Nigerians cannot wait either. They have bills to pay, children to feed, and lives to rebuild. They deserve a President who treats their suffering with the same urgency he gives creditors and investors.”
​Atiku concluded that while political surrogates may attempt to carry the administration’s message, “no crowd of politicians can stand between Tinubu and his record” when Nigerians cast their ballots.
