Tinubu exploiting Buhari’s death for political gains — ADC
By Jeffrey Agbo
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Tinubu of leveraging the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari for what it describes as a political publicity stunt.
In a statement on Friday, the party’s Interim National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, criticised the Federal Executive Council’s tribute to Buhari, calling it “a deliberate publicity stunt by an unpopular administration.”
On Thursday, President Tinubu paid tribute to Buhari during a special Federal Executive Council session held in his honour at the State House in Abuja. The session was attended by members of the late president’s family, National Assembly leaders, and other dignitaries. Tinubu described Buhari as “a good, decent, and honourable man,” noting that despite his imperfections, his dedication to national service stood out. He added that Buhari’s values of discipline, patriotism, and integrity would endure through time.
But the ADC took issue with the gesture, arguing that the administration had spent over a year blaming Buhari for the country’s economic troubles, and was now attempting to capitalise on his death to bolster its image, especially in the North and among the late president’s supporters.
In the statement, the party said, “The ADC recalled how the government previously distanced itself from Buhari’s policies, especially on fuel subsidy, the economy, and public sector management, only to now attempt to cloak itself in the very legacy it once denounced.
“The African Democratic Congress condemns the Tinubu administration’s sudden and cynical attempt to wrap itself in the memory of the late President Muhammadu Buhari—a man this same government spent over a year blaming, sidelining, and scapegoating for every major challenge confronting the nation.
“The choreographed Federal Executive Council (FEC) tribute, complete with a publicised appearance by our late President’s grieving son, was not a demonstration of genuine respect.
“It was a calculated public relations stunt by an unpopular government, carefully stage-managed to distract Nigerians from the administration’s deepening failures and to rewrite history while the nation mourns.
“This is hypocritical and in bad taste. You cannot spend months discrediting a man’s legacy only to turn around and perform grief for the cameras.”
The ADC also criticised the appearance of Yusuf Buhari at the FEC tribute, arguing that involving a bereaved son in what it described as a political spectacle was inappropriate and exploitative.
It stated, “Nigerians remember that since taking office, the Tinubu administration and its officials have launched a relentless campaign to disown their predecessor’s policies.
“They have blamed Buhari for everything, accused him of fiscal recklessness, and claimed to have inherited a broken economy—not from the opposition, but from their own party’s former leader.
“For months, the official stance of the Tinubu Presidency was that Nigeria’s hardship was Buhari’s fault. The message was clear: Buhari was the problem, Tinubu was the solution.
“But now that it suits their political agenda, they seek to recast themselves as defenders of the late President’s legacy, pretending to give him in death, the honour they denied him while he was alive.
“Recall that earlier this week, the ADC warned the family of the late President of the plan by government to make political gains from their father’s death.
“What we witnessed at the Federal Executive Council this week was only a part of the larger plan that had only started to unfold.”
The party maintained that no amount of image-laundering could rescue what it described as a government disconnected from the people.
ADC concluded, “The unfolding stage-managed displays of grief and the exploitation of a mourning son who was compelled to perform gratitude in front of the cameras is unconscionable and must be condemned by all decent people.
“Nevertheless, we are confident that Nigerians can see through their grand deceit.
“No public relations stunt can save a government that has behaved in the last two years like an army of occupation.”
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