The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has sharply criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his administration for allegedly using the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari as a political publicity stunt aimed at salvaging its public image.
In a statement issued on Friday by the party’s Interim National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC described the recent Federal Executive Council (FEC) tribute to the late president as a “choreographed spectacle” designed to distract the public from the government’s perceived failures.
President Tinubu had on Thursday delivered a solemn tribute at a special FEC session in honour of the late Buhari, describing him as “a good, decent, and honourable man” whose life embodied discipline, patriotism, and integrity. Tinubu acknowledged Buhari’s imperfections but praised his unwavering commitment to national service, noting that his legacy would be remembered for generations.
The special session, held at the State House in Abuja, was attended by members of the late president’s family, including his son Yusuf Buhari, alongside senior government officials, National Assembly leaders, and other dignitaries.
However, the ADC responded swiftly, accusing the Tinubu administration of engaging in “cynical political theatre” after having spent the past year “blaming, sidelining, and scapegoating” the Buhari administration for the country’s mounting economic and social challenges.
“The same administration that publicly disowned Buhari’s policies on fuel subsidy, the economy, and public sector management now seeks to cloak itself in the very legacy it once vilified,” the statement read.
The party further alleged that the televised presence of Buhari’s grieving son at the FEC tribute was a deliberate attempt to manipulate public sentiment, especially in the North, where Buhari retained considerable support.
“This was not a demonstration of genuine respect,” the ADC stated. “It was a calculated public relations stunt by an unpopular government, carefully stage-managed to rewrite history and distract Nigerians from the administration’s deepening failures.”
The party went on to describe the event as “hypocritical and in bad taste,” questioning the morality of exploiting a bereaved family’s grief for political mileage.
“Nigerians remember that since taking office, the Tinubu administration has launched a relentless campaign to distance itself from its predecessor’s decisions despite both men emerging from the same political party,” Abdullahi said.
“They have blamed Buhari for everything from fiscal mismanagement to inflation and the devaluation of the naira. They painted him as the architect of the current hardship, while casting Tinubu as the nation’s redeemer. Yet now, they seek to present themselves as protectors of Buhari’s legacy. This is political opportunism at its lowest.”
The ADC also recalled a warning it issued earlier in the week to the late president’s family, cautioning them against what it described as the administration’s plan to extract political capital from Buhari’s passing.
“What we witnessed at the FEC session this week is only the beginning of a broader narrative manipulation,” the party claimed. “It is part of a larger, orchestrated campaign designed to revive dwindling political goodwill.”
In a final rebuke, the opposition party declared that no amount of “stage-managed grief” or public spectacle could redeem an administration that it says has acted more like “an army of occupation than a government serving its people.”
“The exploitation of a mourning son, compelled to perform gratitude before the cameras, is both unconscionable and grotesque,” the ADC said. “We trust that Nigerians will see through this grand deception. No public relations stunt can rescue a government that has so thoroughly betrayed the public trust.”
The Presidency has not officially responded to the ADC’s accusations as of press time.
