ADC campaign aide says Tinubu is out of touch with Nigerians' hardship

A campaign official of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said President Bola Tinubu no longer understands what ordinary Nigerians are going through, and faulted him for pointing at the opposition over hunger.

Phrank Shaibu, who handles strategic communication for the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, said this on ARISE News on Sunday, according to Vanguard and The Sun.

His argument: the president has been in office for three and a half years, so the hardship in the land is his administration's to answer for, not the opposition's.

“He has lost touch with reality,” Shaibu said, adding that the president is “not even aware that he’s president.”

He also described the president's explanation of the hunger crisis as delusional, and said he watched the remarks with his eight-year-old son beside him.

Subsidy removal and school fees

Shaibu tied the cost of living to the removal of the petrol subsidy, which he said pushed up the prices of goods and services sharply.

“The Nigerians cannot afford three square meals today,” he said.

He also alleged that higher university fees have forced some students out of school, even with the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) in place. That claim was not backed with figures in the interviews.

He asked the president to compare prices when he took office on May 29, 2023, with what Nigerians pay now, and argued they should not be worse off.

Shaibu further noted that the APC held power for eight years under former President Muhammadu Buhari before handing over in 2023.

He argued that the president should be held accountable for his administration's economic policies rather than attributing the hardship to political opponents.