Atiku slams Oshiomhole, says ‘APC monumental failure’

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has hit back at Senator Adams Oshiomhole for criticising him, arguing that the ruling party has failed Nigeria.

Atiku also slammed the former All Progressives Congress national chairman for defending the APC party, claiming that the ruling party destroyed internal democracy and turned itself into a “private estate.”

Atiku issued the response on Tuesday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

Oshiomhole had on Monday mocked Atiku’s official defection to the African Democratic Congress, claiming that the ex-VP lacked the capacity to reform any political party.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the lawmaker representing Edo North argued that Atiku repeatedly abandoned parties after failing to secure a presidential ticket.

He said Atiku “couldn’t fix” the Peoples Democratic Party despite serving as vice president for eight years and later left the APC after losing its presidential primary.

But Atiku’s camp dismissed the claim, stressing that the former Edo governor had no moral authority to judge him.

The statement read: “Oshiomhole’s attempt to question Atiku’s capacity is nothing more than a tired distraction from the monumental failures of the APC—the very party he helped foist on Nigeria, and the same party that has driven the country to its worst state in decades.

“Atiku was vice president of Nigeria, not the national chairman of the PDP, and certainly not the sole administrator of a political institution with thousands of independent leaders across the country. Leadership in a democratic party is not a dictatorship.”

Atiku further said, “If Oshiomhole seeks the man who ‘fixed a party’ into a personal empire, he needs only look at the godfather he serves. Under the APC, party supremacy died, dissent was criminalised, and institutions of state became partisan weapons. That is the only kind of ‘fixing’ Oshiomhole understands,” he said.

Listing his achievements, Atiku noted that he rebuilt the economy as chairman of the National Economic Council and championed reforms that strengthened private-sector growth, insisting his leadership record remains unmatched.

“The real question is this: If the APC could not fix Nigeria after eight wasted years and nearly three years of Tinubu, what moral authority does Oshiomhole have to comment on leadership?

“Nigerians know the truth. Atiku Abubakar represents vision, experience, and capacity. Oshiomhole represents noise, propaganda, and the bruising legacy of a party that betrayed the hopes of millions. He should sit this one out,” he added.

Atiku formally joined the African Democratic Congress on Monday after receiving his membership card at Jada 1 Ward in Adamawa State.

His registration came months after resigning from the PDP over “irreconcilable differences.”

The event drew prominent political figures, including former Governor Bindow Jibrilla and Senator Aishatu Binani.