Atiku delivered his address at the ADC headquarters in Abuja to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary, and he did not hold back. Tinubu, in his own broadcast, had declared that the emergency phase of his economic reforms was over and that Nigeria had entered an “age of prosperity.”
Atiku faulted Tinubu’s analogy of Nigeria as a cancer patient, asking why it had become harder to buy food, medicine, and transport after three years of treatment. The question landed at the center of his critique. He said Tinubu’s claim that “emergency treatment is over” did not put food on the table.
“Bola, your speech is full of ‘we will, we will, we will, we will, we will make farming cheaper, we will power factories, we will create jobs, we will bring down prices,'” Atiku said, noting that Tinubu had been president for more than three years and that Nigerians were entitled to ask what had been done with the time already given to him.
He said three years of the Tinubu administration had left Nigerians battling what he described as a severe cost-of-living crisis, with families skipping meals, delaying medical treatment, and borrowing money to survive until payday. That framing was deliberate. He said a slower rise in prices does not restore what families have already lost and that growth must improve lives.
Atiku said subsidy removal hit households, citing that ₦30,000 bought about 118 litres of petrol in April 2023, compared to ₦70,000 buying only 50 litres now, alongside sharp rises in the cost of eggs and bread.
On transport, the ADC candidate went further. He ridiculed Tinubu’s Independence Day speech directly, asking for a progress report on the government’s promise to make transportation costs cheaper by October 1. “Typical of yourself, everything is fake. You promised Nigerians lower transport fares from October 1st. Today is October 1st. Did your promise miss the bus?” he said. He said Tinubu should publish the routes where fares had been reduced, the previous fares, the new fares, and the number of people benefiting.
In Tinubu’s Independence Day speech, Atiku noted, the president attacked his own plan to make life affordable but did not tell Nigerians which additional routes had become cheaper that day. “Bola, was this a yahoo promise?” he asked.
Atiku said Nigerians were not asking for hardship-free policies without accountability but for the government to explain what happened to the savings from subsidy removal and when its reforms would reduce the cost of living. That demand cut to what the government has consistently left unanswered.
Atiku said Nigeria’s independence should also guarantee political freedom, including the right of citizens to question their leaders, organize peacefully, and demand change. From there, he moved to specific detentions. He called for the rule of law to be applied fairly, saying the continued detention of Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria and Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai raised questions about due process that the authorities must answer.
On Nnamdi Kanu, who was recently convicted, Atiku said the IPOB leader’s right to appeal must be respected and that the grievances and divisions surrounding his case must be addressed seriously.
He also renewed his call for the release of five young Nigerians arrested in Borno after they were seen wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan “Tinubu Must Go.”
“A political slogan on a shirt must never become a reason to imprison a Nigerian,” he said. The five remain in custody. No trial date has been publicly confirmed.
On elections, Atiku promised to end rigging if elected, to respect INEC’s independence, and to ensure that vote-buying and result manipulation are punished.
He pledged to support the prompt publication of polling-unit results and said those found guilty of manipulating election results would face the law, regardless of political affiliation.
He urged citizens not to despair, saying the 2027 election provides them the opportunity to elect a leader who can drive the country toward prosperity.
The ADC candidate said an administration led by him would introduce a capped and budgeted production subsidy tied to verified fuel refined in Nigeria.
Thursday’s address placed Atiku Abubakar’s sharpest critique of Tinubu’s Independence Day speech on the public record, weeks before the 2027 campaign fully ignites.
