Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has launched a scathing attack on President Bola Tinubu’s administration, accusing it of economic mismanagement, insecurity, and political intimidation.
In a New Year message released on Thursday, Atiku described 2025 as one of the most “punishing” years in Nigeria’s recent history, citing what he called “economic suffocation, political recklessness, and policy bankruptcy” under the All Progressives Congress-led government. He alleged that the administration operated for months without a functional budget, relying instead on propaganda and excessive borrowing.
“A government that begins reform with forgery cannot end with prosperity,” Atiku declared, referencing the controversy surrounding a disputed tax law as emblematic of what he termed the decay of governance.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party further accused the ruling party of undermining democratic institutions and attempting to turn Nigeria into a one-party state through intimidation and state capture.
Atiku said insecurity worsened significantly in 2025, with kidnappings, abductions, and violent crimes spreading nationwide. He added that unemployment, labour unrest, and the collapse of small businesses compounded citizens’ suffering.
“Despite these failures, compounded by the appointment of undistinguished and unfit individuals to represent Nigeria abroad, the country survived, not because of government competence, but because of the resilience of its people,” he stated.
He described demands for citizens to make sacrifices as “cruel,” arguing that leaders living in comfort while ordinary Nigerians suffer lack moral authority. “Leadership without shared pain is not leadership; it is exploitation,” he said.
Atiku also criticised the government’s anti-corruption drive, calling it selective and politically motivated.
“The so-called anti-corruption crusade of this government is a facade; selective, vindictive, and politically motivated. It has become a tool for persecuting opposition figures rather than cleansing the system,” he said.
He warned that a government capable of tampering with laws could not be trusted to conduct free and fair elections in 2027.
Atiku urged Nigerians to mobilise ahead of the next general election, pledging that change was possible.
“I therefore call on all patriotic Nigerians to engage, mobilise, persuade, and organise. Prepare to vote and to defend your votes in 2027. Let us vote out hunger, insecurity, unemployment, dishonesty, corruption, abductions, lies, and propaganda. Nigeria deserves better. Nigerians deserve dignity,” he said.
He concluded with a rallying metaphor: “2026 is the year to till the soil. 2027 is the year of harvest. It is too late to turn back. Let us rise, organise, and reclaim our country.”
