Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has launched a fresh attack on President Bola Tinubu, urging him to abandon what he described as political theatrics and focus on tackling Nigeria’s worsening economic and security crises.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku dismissed President Tinubu’s declaration that he would “wrestle his opponents to the finish” as the rhetoric of “a drowning man” attempting to divert attention from what he called the administration’s poor performance.
Atiku said the President’s remarks were especially inappropriate because they came in response to an appeal by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) for credible, transparent and peaceful elections.
According to him, rather than reassuring Nigerians of his commitment to electoral integrity, Tinubu resorted to combative rhetoric that reflected what he described as the administration’s growing disconnect from the realities confronting citizens.
“Mr. President, you are a drowning man. Wrestle with your failures, not your opponents,” Atiku declared.
The former Vice President argued that a leader presiding over one of the country’s worst cost-of-living crises should be focused on defeating inflation, hunger, insecurity, unemployment and the depreciation of the naira instead of engaging political rivals.
“He should wrestle with the millions of Nigerians who now skip meals because food has become a luxury. He should wrestle with the insecurity that has turned farming communities into graveyards and highways into hunting grounds for criminals. He should wrestle with unemployment that has robbed an entire generation of hope,” Atiku said.
He further accused the Tinubu administration of relying on political grandstanding to mask governance failures.
“These are the words of a drowning man. A government that has little to celebrate inevitably seeks refuge in chest-thumping. Nigerians are no longer interested in political performances; they are interested in performance in government,” he said.
Atiku maintained that the President’s biggest challenge was not the opposition but the record of his own administration.
“His greatest opponent is his own record. Every unpaid worker, every struggling business, every unemployed graduate, every victim of insecurity and every hungry family is a living testimony to the consequences of his administration’s choices,” he stated.
The ADC presidential candidate also stressed that democracy is decided at the ballot box, not through political intimidation.
“Democracy is a marketplace of ideas and accountability. Governments earn another term through competence, compassion and measurable results—not through combative rhetoric. In 2027, Nigerians will not be stepping into a wrestling arena. They will be stepping into polling units to deliver a constitutional verdict,” he said.
Atiku urged the President to spend the remainder of his tenure addressing Nigeria’s mounting economic and security challenges rather than engaging in what he described as manufactured political battles.
“The Nigerian people are not looking for a wrestler. They are looking for a leader. History will not remember who shouted the loudest. It will remember who governed the best,” the statement added.
