The Presidency has hit back at the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) accusing its leadership of dancing on the grave of the late President Muhammadu Buhari and using his demise to seek relevance.
In a statement on Friday, the ADC had accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration of exploiting the death of Buhari to whitewash its image.
Reacting to the allegation, Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, said the latest outburst from the ADC regarding former President Buhari’s state burial is “nothing but an opportunistic exercise in manufactured outrage a laughable tantrum by a poorly amalgamated political contraption desperately clutching at straws for relevance it will never attain.”
Dare said this is not the first time the ADC would attempt at reinvention, describing the coalition party as grappling with an identity crisis and has no locus standing to lecture the President on governance, decorum, and public accountability.
He said since the emergence of the coalition, it has “resorted to issuing disjointed press statements on every passing event to remind Nigerians it now exists. In its desperation to look like an opposition party, it has now crossed every known line of decency.
“Their latest press release, alleging that President Tinubu’s government is “exploiting” the passing of former President Muhammadu Buhari for political gain, is not only dishonest it is an insult to millions of Nigerians who genuinely mourn the loss of a statesman, and who watched the State Burial accorded Buhari with solemn respect and dignity.
“Let it be said clearly: the ADC is the one exploiting Buhari’s death for political attention, not this government. They have chosen to dance on his grave for relevance.”
The statement said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Ex Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai arrival in Daura was “greeted with chants seeking to make political capital from the solemnity of the moment to this disgraceful press statement, the ADC has shown itself to be utterly shameless.
“For clarity, President Tinubu’s administration is neither desperate nor searching for cheap popularity.
This government would rather allow its growing list of achievements to speak louder than the noisy irrelevance of groups like the ADC.
“The burial of former President Buhari was conducted with the complete honour befitting a leader of his stature. That is why world leaders showed up, millions of Nigerians tuned in on television and across social media, and even ADC promoters were falling over themselves in Daura, prancing about the Buhari family compound like eager real estate agents scouting new territory.”
The statement also said the ADC is consumed by internal squabbles, facing multiple court cases over its very existence, and reduced to issuing these baseless attacks to cling to the fringes of relevance, adding that Nigerians are not fooled and No press statement — however venomous — can erase the facts of progress.
“President Tinubu honoured Buhari with dignity in death and continues to honour his legacy through hard work, not hollow words.”
