The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday, praised President Bola Tinubu to the high heavens, claiming that he has performed better than the rest of the past Fourth Republic presidents in two years.

  But while reaffirming its position as the leading opposition force and a bulwark of democratic values, following a successful 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting that underscored party unity and strategic readiness ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) carpeted the APC-led Federal government.

  In an interview with Arise TV, yesterday, spokesperson for APC, Felix Morka, said: “This President, in two years, has done more than all other presidents, in the direction of ordering our priorities and tackling some of the challenges faced by our economy.”

  Dismissing criticisms from opposition politicians planning a coalition to challenge Tinubu in 2027, Morka added: “President Tinubu remains focused on matters that guarantee the long-term health of our country. The hue and cry from opposition members such as Rotimi Amaechi, Nasir el-Rufai or Atiku Abubakar does not cut it. They know in their heart that Tinubu is doing exactly what any right-thinking leader would do for Nigeria.”

  Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, succeeding his party man, Muhammadu Buhari. Before Buhari, there were Goodluck Jonathan, the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Olusegun Obasanjo, from 1999 when Nigeria returned to civil rule.

  In the past two years, Tinubu’s policies on fuel subsidy removal and naira floating led to a significant increase in fuel prices, from N145 to the N1,000 region, while the naira collapsed from about N700 to over N1,600 a dollar. This shot up the cost of living.  

  With inflation at 24 per cent under Tinubu, Nigeria recorded the largest food shortage globally in 2024, according to the 2025 Global Report on Food Crises published by the Global Network Against Food Crises, in collaboration with the Food Security Information Network and UNICEF.

   The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that poverty and food insecurity remained high under Tinubu, just as the World Bank’s Africa Pulse report of April 2025 stated that Nigeria, under Tinubu, had the highest number of extremely poor people globally, warning that more Nigerians would be plunged into poverty by 2027.

  In difference, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, told journalists at a briefing in Abuja, yesterday, that the peaceful and well-attended NEC meeting of the party on May 27, demonstrated the party’s “resilience, orderliness and institutional strength,” even in the face of internal scepticism and political distractions.

  “There were naysayers, who doubted that the NEC would hold,” Ologunagba noted. “But it did, successfully. That alone is a clear sign of a party that is alive, well-structured and driven by democratic norms.”

  The PDP spokesperson revealed that the two strategic committees established during the NEC session; the Zoning Committee, chaired by Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa State, and the National Convention Committee, chaired by Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, were already engaging with various organs of the party in a broad consultative process that includes the Board of Trustees (BoT), the PDP Governors’ Forum (PDPGF), National Assembly caucuses, and state chairpersons.

  Despite his criticism of APC, Ologunagba was careful to emphasise that the PDP’s position was not based on blind opposition. “It is in our interest for Nigeria to succeed. But success cannot come without listening to alternative ideas and building consensus across political lines.”