The Presidency on Saturday tore into the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for accusing the Tinubu administration of exploiting the state funeral of former President Muhammadu Buhari, describing the allegation as “a laughable tantrum” and “utterly shameless.”
In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, the Presidency said the opposition party was “dancing on Buhari’s grave for relevance.”
Dare, who spoke with reporters after a closed-door briefing at the State House, said the ADC’s press release was “nothing more than a desperate attempt by a poorly amalgamated political contraption clutching at straws.”
He added: “This is not the first time the ADC, in its pitiful, stuttering attempts at reinvention, has embarrassed itself with hollow, attention-seeking criticisms. A party still grappling with an identity crisis presumes to lecture the President on governance and decorum. How utterly ridiculous.”
The ADC had claimed, in a statement released Thursday, that the week-long state burial for Buhari was being milked for political mileage. Dare dismissed the claim as “dishonest and an insult to millions of Nigerians who genuinely mourned the late statesman.”
He recalled that the funeral, held in Daura, Katsina State, was attended by world leaders, including the presidents of Ghana, Niger and Chad, and was watched live across the country.
“There was no politicking. There was solemn respect,” Dare insisted, adding that the ADC’s allegation “flies in the face of the dignity with which the entire programme was executed.”
Turning the accusation back on the opposition, Dare cited the “choreographed arrival” of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai in Daura, which he said was marked by partisan chants. “If anyone is exploiting Buhari’s death, it is these characters,” he said.
The Presidency listed recent achievements it said dwarf “the noisy irrelevance” of critics to include Naira stabilised and exchange rates harmonised, Oil production up to 1.7 million barrels per day, FAAC allocations up over 60 %; 31 states now paying salaries and pensions and Electricity restored to long-neglected communities.
Dare also listed: 400,000 students benefiting from the NELFUND loan scheme, Major roads delivered: Ogbia-Nembe, Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto–Badagry and Regional Development Commissions established and the Consumer Credit Scheme launched
The Presidential adviser concluded by urging Nigerians “to ignore the howls of political scavengers” and assured that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu “will remain focused on delivering the Renewed Hope Agenda without being distracted by desperate antics.”
