According to a report by Punch News on July 31, 2026, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged President Bola Tinubu to stop blaming previous administrations for Nigeria’s current challenges, arguing that more than three years into office, Nigerians expect solutions rather than explanations.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate acknowledged that Tinubu inherited economic difficulties but said history judges leaders by the solutions they provide, not the excuses they make.
Atiku accused the administration of fiscal mismanagement and alleged involvement in a major appropriation controversy. He also dismissed Tinubu’s recent claim that living conditions were improving, citing the struggles of market women, civil servants, manufacturers, unemployed graduates, displaced farmers and families grappling with rising living costs.
He further argued that Nigeria should emulate China’s focus on manufacturing, infrastructure, education, technology and export-led industrialisation, describing the country’s youthful population as an economic asset.
“Nobody ‘elected’ Tinubu to eliminate the hunger of 1940. Nigerians ‘elected’ him to confront the hunger of today,” Atiku said, urging the president to engage directly with the realities facing ordinary Nigerians.
