Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described President Bola Tinubu as “incompetent” in his New Year message to Nigerians, accusing the administration of causing economic hardship and eroding democratic values.
In the statement issued on Wednesday, Abubakar said 2025 was “one of the most punishing years in our recent history,” citing “economic suffocation, political recklessness, and governance without empathy” under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He argued that “the past year exposed, in stark terms, the incompetence and policy bankruptcy of President Bola Tinubu,” alleging that the government relied on propaganda, reckless borrowing, and operated for months without a functional budget.
He also claimed that the APC attempted to “deform our multiparty democracy into a de facto one-party state through coercion, intimidation, and state capture,” while insecurity, kidnappings, and violent crimes continued to rise nationwide.
Abubakar further stated that citizens bore the weight of economic decline while government officials lived in comfort, insisting that “leadership without shared pain is exploitation.”
He said small businesses are collapsing, workers are losing jobs, and hunger has become normalised, describing the administration’s response as arrogant and dismissive of public concerns.
“The arrogance of this administration is unprecedented. Its contempt for public opinion, its hostility to criticism, and its willingness to punish Nigerians through bad policies reveal a government fundamentally hostile to the people,” he said, adding that the anti-corruption fight has become selective and politically motivated.
The former presidential candidate urged Nigerians to remain united, saying the 2027 election will provide an opportunity to replace “bad leaders” and redirect the country’s future.