The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected criticism from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and ex-Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, accusing them of “self-serving desperation” for power and of attempting to undermine President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms.

In a statement issued on Monday by Felix Morka, APC’s national publicity secretary, the party described the trio, who spoke at Amaechi’s 60th birthday lecture in Abuja on Saturday, as “displaced rent-seekers” clinging to a bygone era of political and economic privilege.

“These three individuals have occupied Nigeria’s highest political offices between 1999 and 2023… In all 24 years, the trio, individually or collectively, could not and did not eradicate poverty in their states or the country,” the statement said.

“They did not even attempt to address, let alone tackle, the structural challenges and distortions that stifled the economy and worsened poverty.”

The APC described the birthday celebration as having “quickly dissolved into an occasion” for Amaechi, Atiku, and El-Rufai to launch self-serving attacks on Tinubu’s government.

“When Amaechi declared, ‘I am hungry,’ he must mean… he is hungry and desperate to return to his felt entitled dependency on state resources and patronage,” the party stated, adding that the former minister’s complaint only “underscores the depth of the self-serving motivations” behind their criticisms.

Morka argued that Tinubu’s economic reforms, such as subsidy removal and exchange rate unification, are dismantling entrenched systems that previously enabled corruption and rent-seeking.

“Nigerians see right through their disruptive politicking,” the statement continued. “They are discomforted that Tinubu’s reforms are dismantling the insidious and permissive system that enabled and sustained their reckless plunder and exploitation of the economy.”

In defending Tinubu’s record, the party claimed that the reforms had already begun yielding results, citing improved trade balances, a strengthened naira, and increased investment in infrastructure, health, and education.

“The economy posted a growth rate of 4.6 percent in the last quarter of 2024, representing the highest growth rate in a decade amid a significant decline in the global price of crude oil,” the APC said.

It also pointed to increased wages, stating, “States that previously struggled to pay N30,000 minimum wage are now paying a significantly higher minimum wage of N70,000 per month.”

The party described Tinubu as focused on long-term prosperity over short-term political gain, saying he “has genuinely prioritised the best interest of Nigerians over any political electoral calculation.”

“Mr President is on course, and will not be distracted by the selfish partisan rambling of some hardened political opportunists and economic exploiters… The best strategic interest of our economy and the good people of Nigeria must continue to trump any and all political or electoral calculations.”