The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed recent opposition protests against the Federal Government as driven by frustration over dwindling access to state resources, rather than genuine public concern.
APC National Secretary Senator Ajibola Bashiru, made the remarks after a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa Abuja, while responding to opposition briefings that criticised the administration’s reforms.
“They are not crying for the average Nigerian,” Bashiru said. “They are crying because they have lost the privilege and opportunity to continue to plunder the resources of the Nigerian people.”
He argued that President Tinubu’s reforms over the past two and a half years—including subsidy removals and fiscal tightening—had plugged systemic leakages, bolstering public finances and macroeconomic stability, but opponents preferred “theatrics” to grassroots engagement.
Bashiru urged critics to seek electoral legitimacy rather than “lamentations born out of lost privilege”.
His comments came amid the defection of Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri to the APC, which Bashiru hailed as advancing President Tinubu’s vision of a “pan-Nigerian” party.
With Fintiri’s switch, the APC now holds 30 of Nigeria’s 36 states, leaving the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with three, and one each for the Accord Party, Labour Party and All Progressives Grand Alliance.
Bashiru described the dominance as evidence of the party’s appeal and President Tinubu’s political acumen, noting ongoing consolidation through recent ward and local government congresses ahead of state-level polls next week.
