The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) over its attack on Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers state and the party’s vice-presidential candidate, following his comments about the death of his mother.
Speaking on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the former governor of Rivers said the rising cost of medicines under the Tinubu administration made it difficult for his family to care for his mother before her death.
“Because policies are killing people. I’ve lost my mother. Before Tinubu, my mother was healthy. Suddenly, by the time Tinubu came, it was difficult to buy drugs for my mother,” Amaechi had said.
Responding in a statement, the APC said Amaechi’s comments showed he was “unfit” to occupy the office of vice-president.
In a statement issued on Sunday by Phrank Shaibu, director of strategic communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), the party described the APC’s response as “political cruelty” rather than an answer to the hardship facing Nigerians.
Shaibu said the death of Amaechi’s mother and his family’s grief should not be turned into material for partisan ridicule.
“A mother’s death and a family’s grief should never be turned into material for partisan ridicule,” he said.
“If Rotimi Amaechi says he struggled to afford his mother’s medication, the humane response is compassion.”
Shaibu said Morka’s description of Amaechi reflected what he described as the APC’s contempt for ordinary Nigerians struggling with the cost of living.
“Morka calls Amaechi a loafer for struggling outside public office. That insult says more about the APC’s contempt for ordinary people than it says about Amaechi,” he said.
The ADC PCC said Nigerians struggling to afford treatment, electricity and transportation should not be labelled loafers.
“Nigerians who cannot afford treatment, keep the lights on or travel safely on their roads are not loafers,” Shaibu said.
“They are citizens living through the consequences of a government that has failed them.”
Shaibu said the APC should focus on the economic and social difficulties facing Nigerians instead of attacking Amaechi.
“The reality is plain: the roads are bad, the economy is bad, electricity is bad, security is bad and the welfare of the people is bad,” he said.
“Tinubu’s name is increasingly associated with poverty, insecurity and hardship. No amount of mockery can make those conditions disappear.”
He said the performance of a government should be measured by whether citizens can live safely, afford medical treatment and earn a decent living.
“The test of government is not how viciously its spokesmen can insult their opponents. It is whether people can live safely, afford treatment and earn a decent living. On that test, Tinubu’s government has failed,” Shaibu said.
He called on Morka to explain the government’s record and urged the APC to respect Amaechi’s family as they mourn his mother.