The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has sharply criticized former vice president and perennial presidential contender Atiku Abubakar, calling him “Africa’s most famous election loser” after he asserted that he won Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election.
In response to a statement issued by President Bola Tinubu over the weekend, Atiku maintained that the Nigerian electorate had, in his view, chosen him as the true winner of the 2023 election. Tinubu rebuffed Atiku’s criticisms, dismissing them as unrealistic claims and labeling his alternative vision for Nigeria’s development as misguided and impractical.
On Monday, APC spokesperson Felix Morka issued a statement dismissing Atiku’s claims as mere “rants.” The APC reiterated that, since his tenure as vice president (1999–2007), Atiku has been repeatedly defeated in every presidential race he has contested.
The party argued that in six elections over the past 17 years, “Nigerians have clearly voiced their rejection of Atiku,” citing allegations of untrustworthiness, corruption, lack of vision, and a pattern of desperation. The APC also noted that the judiciary has upheld his electoral defeats, reaffirming the public’s decision.
In its statement, the APC added that Atiku’s “bogus claim” of a 2023 victory was “beyond comical” and symptomatic of a refusal to accept political reality. The APC referenced Atiku’s past controversies, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s public disapproval, saying that Obasanjo once remarked that “if I support Atiku for anything, God will not forgive me.”
The party accused Atiku of perpetuating economic policies as vice president that led to systemic corruption, notably the petrol subsidy framework and inefficiencies in the power sector, which continue to burden Nigeria today. The APC claimed that Atiku’s “desperation” to become president is linked to a desire to “complete the subversion” of Nigeria’s economy.
Additionally, the APC dismissed Atiku’s recently published document, “What I Would Do Differently,” arguing that it reveals “stale, failed economic ideas” that lack relevance to Nigeria’s current challenges. The party insisted that Atiku’s tenure as vice president and his influence within the PDP—Nigeria’s opposition party—reflect his inability to bring about positive change, claiming that he “failed to fix the dysfunction” in his own party.
The APC concluded by encouraging Nigerians to continue supporting the APC-led government’s efforts to revive the economy, emphasizing that Atiku’s record of broken promises and alleged self-interest are reasons for his repeated electoral failures.
