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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye and Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) have intensified their war of words ahead of the 2027 presidential election, trading accusations over the educational backgrounds of their presidential candidates and alleged failure to pay workers’ salaries.
While the ADC Presidential Campaign Council accused Vice-President Kashim Shettima of ridiculing its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over his educational qualifications instead of addressing the country’s economic difficulties, the APC campaign council alleged that the opposition party had failed to pay its employees for more than 12 months.
The exchange followed Shettima’s reported remarks at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday, where he questioned Atiku’s suitability for the presidency, citing his training at the Kano School of Hygiene and criticising his economic proposals.
The ADC, in a statement by its Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, described the vice-president’s remarks as an insult to millions of Nigerians who pursued education through modest institutions and worked their way to professional and political prominence.
It argued that the administration should be explaining how its economic policies would alleviate the rising cost of living rather than questioning the academic background of an opposition candidate.
“At the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja today, Vice President Kashim Shettima had a chance to explain why Nigerians are struggling to afford fuel, transport and food. Instead, he mocked Atiku Abubakar for attending the Kano School of Hygiene. Faced with the cost of living crisis, this government’s Vice President attacked a man’s school,” the statement said.
The campaign council maintained that Atiku had nothing to be ashamed of in his educational history, insisting that his progression from secondary school through further training to business and public service reflected the experiences of many Nigerians.
“What, exactly, is shameful about Atiku’s education?
He completed secondary school, pursued further training and built a life through work. Millions of Nigerians have travelled the same road. Their parents sacrificed to get them into the schools they could afford; they studied, worked and rose. Shettima looked at that struggle and saw something to laugh at.”
The opposition party challenged Shettima to subject President Bola Tinubu’s academic records to the same scrutiny, reviving controversies surrounding documents associated with his educational history.
It alleged that a document among Tinubu’s Chicago State University records indicated that he graduated from Government College Lagos in 1970, although the institution was established in 1974.
“If Shettima wants to examine school records, he should begin with the man he serves. A document in Bola Tinubu’s Chicago State University records lists him as having graduated from Government College Lagos in 1970, four years before the school was established in 1974,” the ADC stated.
The campaign council also questioned the variation in the president’s names on documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), citing a National Youth Service Corps certificate bearing the name “Tinubu Bola Adekunle.”
It maintained that the issues deserved clarification, although the allegations were not accompanied by fresh judicial findings establishing wrongdoing.
The ADC further accused the administration of failing to address widespread hardship, citing estimates attributed to the World Bank on poverty and projections that millions of Nigerians faced acute food insecurity.
“Shettima says Atiku wants Nigerians to ‘backslide into penury.’ Back from where? The World Bank estimates that nearly seven in ten Nigerians will live below its lower middle income poverty line in 2026, while 35 million people face acute food insecurity. Poverty is not a future threat to these families. It is the life they are struggling through today,” the council said.
It argued that the vice-president’s criticism of Atiku’s economic proposals ignored the financial difficulties confronting households.
“A parent choosing between transport to work and food for the children does not need Shettima to explain penury. His remark shows how far this government has drifted from the people it serves.”
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The ADC explained that Atiku’s proposal was not a return to an unrestricted petrol subsidy but a targeted, capped and independently audited arrangement tied to petrol refined in Nigeria.
It challenged Shettima to provide figures demonstrating why the proposal would be unworkable and present alternative measures for reducing fuel prices.
The campaign council maintained that Nigerians would ultimately assess the competing economic proposals and records of the candidates at the polls on January 16, 2027.
In a separate statement, the APC Presidential Campaign Council shifted attention to the ADC’s treatment of its employees, accusing the opposition party of owing workers more than one year’s salaries.
The APC campaign council, through its spokesperson, Dele Alake, alleged that the ADC National Working Committee, led by David Mark as chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as secretary, had neglected its financial obligations to party workers despite making promises to improve the welfare of Nigerians.
“We find it unconscionable that a political party that has made many grandiose promises to hoodwink Nigerians owes its workers for more than 12 months,” the statement said.
“Owing staff who come to work every day and who rely on the salaries for their daily sustenance is wicked and reprehensible.”
The ruling party argued that the alleged salary arrears raised questions about the opposition’s commitment to workers’ welfare and its capacity to manage public resources.
It also accused Atiku of having a history of salary payment disputes in businesses associated with him, citing allegations of unpaid wages and protests involving workers of Gotel Communications and other enterprises.
The APC maintained that the allegations contradicted Atiku’s campaign promises on economic management and employment.
Turning to Aregbesola, the campaign council criticised his record as governor of Osun State, alleging that his administration introduced quarter-salary and half-salary payments for some categories of workers amid financial difficulties.
It further alleged that pensioners experienced prolonged delays in receiving their full entitlements, arguing that his record on workers’ welfare deserved scrutiny in view of his position in the ADC leadership.
According to the APC, a party seeking to govern Nigeria should demonstrate its commitment to workers by meeting its obligations to employees.
The ruling party accused the ADC leadership of being motivated by the pursuit of political power rather than the welfare of Nigerians, maintaining that the opposition’s criticism of Tinubu’s administration was inconsistent with its own record.
“We have clearly stated that ADC leaders and their presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, do not mean well and can do nothing for our country,” the statement said.
The APC subsequently urged voters to reject the ADC and its candidates in the general election.
“We are sounding a warning to Nigerians and working people now: reject ADC. Reject Atiku Abubakar and reject all ADC candidates in the next general elections,” the council declared.
The APC statement did not provide payroll records or other documentary evidence establishing the alleged 12-month salary arrears, while the ADC’s response to the specific allegations was not contained in the reports available at the time of filing.
