Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has characterised 2025 as “one of the most punishing years in our recent history,” accusing President Bola Tinubu’s administration of economic mismanagement, political recklessness, and governance devoid of empathy.
In a New Year message shared on his official X handle on Thursday, Atiku said Nigerians experienced what he termed “economic suffocation” under the All Progressives Congress government, arguing that the year laid bare the “incompetence and policy bankruptcy” of the Tinubu-led administration.
“For millions of long-suffering Nigerians, the only consolation is that 2025… has come to an end,” Atiku said. “It was a year defined by economic suffocation, political recklessness, and governance without empathy under the All Progressives Congress administration.”
He alleged that the Federal Government operated for several months without a functional budget, relying instead on propaganda while “borrowing recklessly,” a situation he claimed pushed the country “to the brink of economic collapse.”
According to Atiku, “Nothing better captures the decay of this government than the scandal of a forged tax law, shamelessly branded a ‘reform,’” adding that the President’s refusal to allow due legislative and legal processes to address what he described as “clearly a criminal act” was alarming.
“A government that begins reform with forgery cannot end with prosperity,” he stated.
The former Vice President further accused the APC of intentionally undermining Nigeria’s democracy throughout 2025, claiming the ruling party worked “systematically to deform our multiparty democracy into a de facto one-party state through coercion, intimidation, and state capture.”
He also alleged that while the government “drowned the nation in debt,” it continued to claim revenue success, even as insecurity deteriorated nationwide.
“Kidnappings, abductions, and violent crimes surged, affecting citizens, young and old alike,” Atiku said. “Lives were lost, livelihoods destroyed, and communities terrorized, while government assurances rang hollow.”
On the economic front, Atiku said unemployment, labor unrest, and the collapse of small businesses dominated the year, noting that “industries shut down,” “workers were sent home,” and “hunger spread” across the country.
Despite these difficulties, he argued that Nigeria endured “not because of government competence, but because of the resilience of its people.”
Atiku described the statement as “one of the most painful New Year messages I have ever written,” blaming what he called the “callous and soulless policies” of the Tinubu administration.
“Sacrifice is patriotic—but it becomes cruel when demanded by leaders who live extravagantly,” he said, adding that “leadership without shared pain is not leadership; it is exploitation.”
He warned that “a government capable of forging or tampering with laws cannot be trusted to conduct free and fair elections in 2027,” while urging Nigerians not to succumb to despair but to pursue change “peacefully and decisively, through the ballot.”
Atiku also dismissed the administration’s anti-corruption campaign as “a facade; selective, vindictive, and politically motivated,” calling on Nigerians to reject religious and ethnic division and embrace unity as “the path to rescue.”
What you should know
Atiku Abubakar’s New Year message is a strong political critique of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, focusing on economic hardship, rising insecurity and alleged democratic erosion in 2025.
He accused the government of poor fiscal management, excessive borrowing, and insensitivity to citizens’ suffering, while questioning the credibility of its reforms and anti-corruption stance. Atiku warned that governance failures could undermine future elections and urged Nigerians to seek change through peaceful, democratic means.
His remarks signal continued opposition pressure ahead of 2027, while appealing to national unity amid deepening socioeconomic challenges.
