Atiku urges Tinubu to focus on addressing food shortages and crime rather than targeting critics.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has launched a scathing attack on President Bola Tinubu, urging him to focus on addressing Nigeria's worsening economic and security challenges rather than engaging in political grandstanding.

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Atiku's criticism came in response to Tinubu's declaration that he was prepared to "wrestle his opponents to the finish," which the former Vice President said betrayed the desperation of a leader struggling under the weight of his administration's failures.

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In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described Tinubu as "a drowning man" attempting to distract Nigerians from his abysmal record in office.

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Atiku declared, "Mr President, you are a drowning man, wrestle with your failures, not your opponents," and expressed concern that the President's comment was made while responding to a call by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria for credible, transparent, and peaceful elections.

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According to Atiku, the occasion required reassurance and statesmanship rather than combative rhetoric, and Tinubu's response reflected the aloofness that has come to define his administration.

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Atiku argued that the President should channel his energy towards tackling inflation, food insecurity, unemployment, insecurity, and the country's economic decline, rather than threatening political opponents.

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The former Vice President said the President should "wrestle with the millions of Nigerians who now skip meals because food has become a luxury" and "wrestle with the insecurity that has turned farming communities into graveyards and highways into hunting grounds for criminals."

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Atiku also stated that the President should "wrestle with the unemployment that has robbed an entire generation of hope" and "wrestle with an economy suffocating under policy inconsistency, reckless borrowing, and dwindling investor confidence."

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He argued that governments with poor records often resorted to political theatrics to divert attention from public dissatisfaction, and that "these are the words of a drowning man, a government that has little to celebrate inevitably seeks refuge in chest-thumping."

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Atiku contended that Nigerians are no longer interested in political performances, but rather in performance in government, and that "empty slogans cannot fill empty stomachs, boastful declarations cannot lower food prices, threats against political opponents cannot restore the value of the naira."

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The former Vice President further argued that the President's biggest political challenge was not the opposition, but the performance of his own administration, and that "his greatest opponent is his own record."

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Atiku reminded the President that democratic elections are decided by voters, not political bravado, and that "democracy is a marketplace of ideas and accountability, governments earn another term through competence, compassion, and measurable results, not through combative rhetoric."

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He urged Tinubu to spend the remainder of his tenure confronting the country's pressing challenges rather than engaging in unnecessary political battles, and that "the Nigerian people are not looking for a wrestler, they are looking for a leader, history will not remember who shouted the loudest, it will remember who governed the best."

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The exchange follows Tinubu's remarks during an audience with members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria in Abuja, where he reportedly declared that he would "wrestle" his political opponents "to the finishing point" in the 2027 general election.

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Also on Wednesday, Atiku accused Tinubu's administration of losing control of Nigeria's public finances, citing a report that the Federal Government borrowed far above the limit approved by the National Assembly in the 2024 fiscal year.

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Atiku said the latest figures, which showed that the Federal Government exceeded its approved borrowing ceiling by N4.79tn, pushing total fresh borrowing to N12.62tn, underscored a pattern of fiscal recklessness, opacity, and waste under the current administration.

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According to him, the latest borrowing figures demonstrated that the government's economic policies had failed to achieve their stated objectives, and that "Nigerians were promised that the painful removal of fuel subsidy, repeated tax hikes, and other harsh economic measures would reduce borrowing and restore fiscal stability, instead, the country is witnessing the exact opposite: endless borrowing, ballooning debt, and unprecedented waste."

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Citing figures from the Budget Office, Atiku noted that the Federal Government borrowed 61.2 per cent above the amount authorized by the National Assembly, and questioned the source of an additional N3.19tn reportedly obtained as "budget support," despite there being no provision for such borrowing in the approved appropriation.

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He described the development as part of a broader pattern of financial mismanagement, and accused the administration of operating duplicated budgets, concealing huge expenditures under the Service Wide Vote, creating "fake agencies," and approving extravagant spending on luxury vehicles while critical sectors remained underfunded.

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Atiku argued that there was little evidence that the borrowed funds had translated into improvements in education, healthcare, security, or infrastructure, and that "the tragedy is that Nigerians are being forced to service debts whose benefits they cannot see."

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He also pointed to reports that higher international crude oil prices had generated an estimated N7.98tn oil revenue windfall for the Federal Government, arguing that increased earnings should ordinarily have reduced the country's dependence on borrowing, and that "a government earning windfalls while borrowing recklessly is not suffering from lack of revenue, it is suffering from lack of discipline."

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The former Vice President expressed concern over the country's rising debt servicing obligations, noting that the Budget Office report showed debt servicing reached N12.36tn, exceeding budgetary projections by more than 52 per cent, and warned that Nigeria was approaching a dangerous fiscal position where government borrowing would primarily be used to repay existing debts.

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Atiku said an ADC-led government would prioritize blocking financial leakages, eliminating waste, and directing public funds toward productive investments capable of stimulating economic growth and improving citizens' welfare, and that "the Nigerian people cannot continue paying today's taxes to service yesterday's loans while tomorrow's generations inherit only debt."