Presidency, APC Slam Atiku Over ‘Revolution’ Warning, Say He’s Out of Touch

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar came under heavy criticism yesterday following his warning that hunger and hardship in Nigeria could spark a revolution.

The Presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) dismissed the alarm as outdated rhetoric, accusing the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate of being “out of touch with reality.”

Presidency: Atiku stuck in the past

In a statement by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said Atiku’s claim that Nigeria was on the brink of collapse under President Bola Tinubu was grossly misleading.

“Atiku and his party are stuck in the past, fixated on doomsday scenarios and revolutionary rhetoric,” Mr Onanuga said. “Talk is cheap. Their claim that hunger is ravaging Nigeria, with comparisons to the French Revolution and Russian Bolshevik Revolution, is not only false but reckless.”

He pointed to recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showing inflation had declined for five consecutive months to 20.12 percent, alongside a record trade surplus and stronger foreign reserves, now at nearly $42 billion.

According to him, states are enjoying unprecedented revenue, enabling prompt payment of salaries, gratuities, and funding of capital projects. “Under President Tinubu, Nigeria is recording progress that Atiku chooses to ignore,” he added.

APC: Atiku inciting, desperate

Backing the Presidency, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka described Atiku’s remarks as inciting and borne out of desperation.

“At this point, I want to believe Atiku is out of touch with what goes on in the country,” Mr Morka said on a television programme. “When every paper is reporting declining inflation, he is making inciting comments. It is disappointing that a man who had the chance to tackle hunger and insecurity as vice president failed to do so.”

Mr Morka accused Atiku of seeking to exploit hardship for political gain, adding: “Nigerians know Atiku is desperate for power. He should rest. He has become irrelevant to posterity.”

He praised Tinubu’s economic reforms—such as fuel subsidy removal and naira float—as bold measures addressing structural problems ignored by previous PDP governments. “Hope is coming alive. Farmers are smiling more. The future will get better,” he said.

Atiku’s warning

Atiku, through his spokesman Paul Ibe, had earlier warned that worsening hunger and poverty could trigger unrest similar to the Arab Spring, French Revolution, or Russia’s 1917 uprising.

He argued that the government’s reforms lacked a human face, leaving millions of Nigerians “dying of hunger” and pushing the poor toward crime and despair. “There is no government worth its salt that does not place priority on the welfare and security of the people,” Atiku said.

He linked Nigeria’s 2020 #EndSARS protests to the same frustrations and cautioned that without urgent action, the nation risked sliding into instability.