ADC slams APC over early 2027 campaigns, cites disregard for electoral law, public hardship

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of prioritising President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid over addressing the country’s deepening economic crisis.

Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC’s interim National Publicity Secretary, disclosed this in a statement on his X page on Wednesday.

He criticised the APC for allegedly engaging in premature campaign activities ahead of the 2027 general elections, despite clear warnings from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

INEC had earlier issued a strong warning to political parties and aspirants, urging them to refrain from premature campaign activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The commission described such actions as clear violations of the Electoral Act 2022.

Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, noted that the commission has not released the official timetable or schedule of activities for the upcoming polls.

Abdullahi said the APC’s growing wave of rallies and endorsements for Tinubu’s second term amounts to a violation of the Electoral Act, which prohibits public campaigning more than 150 days before polling day.

“For several months, APC organs have staged rallies and erected billboards endorsing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term,” Abdullahi said.

“From the Abuja national caucus that proclaimed him sole candidate, to choreographed declarations in Port Harcourt, Minna, Kano, and Akure.

“These theatrics brazenly ignore the Electoral Act and the fresh warning issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission, which reminds every politician that public campaigning is illegal until one hundred and fifty days before polling day.”

Abdullahi criticised the APC’s focus on political theatrics while Nigerians continue to grapple with economic hardship.

He said inflation remains high, the naira has sharply declined, and petrol prices have more than quadrupled since the removal of fuel subsidy.

“While the ruling party chants “four more years” and sings songs of a sinking mandate, prices have galloped beyond the reach of ordinary citizens,” he said.

“Headline inflation, already twenty-two percent in 2023, rocketed to a thirty-year high of almost thirty-five percent last December and still hovers above twenty-two percent today, meaning food, transport, and rent now cost roughly sixty percent more than they did at the time he took office.

“The naira has crumbled from about N461 to the dollar in early 2023 to well over N1,500, wiping out savings and strangling small enterprises.

“Petrol that once sold for N185 per litre before subsidy removal now averages more than N1,000, turning every journey to work or market into an exercise in anguish.”

He added that the party’s conduct not only undermines electoral laws but also mocks the daily struggles of citizens.

The ADC, Abdullahi said, is prepared to confront the APC at the polls once the official campaign season begins.