The Presidency yesterday fired back at the African Democratic Congress (ADC) over its statement accusing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration of exploiting the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari for political image laundering.

It described the opposition party’s claims as “shameless” and “obnoxious.”

In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Mr. Sunday Dare, the Presidency accused the ADC and its leading figures of “disrespecting Buhari and dancing on his grave for relevance.”

“Let it be said clearly: the ADC is the one exploiting Buhari’s death for political attention, not this government.

“From Atiku and El-Rufai’s choreographed arrival in Daura — greeted with chants seeking to make political capital from the solemnity of the moment — to this disgraceful press statement, the ADC has shown itself to be utterly shameless,” Dare stated.

The Presidency dismissed the ADC’s criticism as a “laughable tantrum” and part of a pattern of opportunistic outrage.

“This is not the first time the ADC — in its pitiful, stuttering attempts at reinvention — has embarrassed itself with hollow, attention-seeking criticisms.

“A party still grappling with an identity crisis presumes lecturing the President of the Federal Republic on governance, decorum and public accountability.

“How utterly ridiculous,” the statement read.

In contrast to the ADC’s allegations, the Presidency insisted that President Tinubu’s conduct during the mourning period was both dignified and befitting of the stature of the late former President.

“The burial of former President Buhari was conducted with the complete honour befitting a leader of his stature.

“That is why world leaders showed up, millions of Nigerians tuned in on television and across social media, and even ADC promoters were falling over themselves in Daura, prancing about the Buhari family compound like eager real estate agents scouting new territory,” Dare noted.

Highlighting the administration’s focus and performance, the statement outlined what it described as President Tinubu’s growing list of achievements, including naira stabilisation, improved oil production, a 60% increase in FAAC allocations, and the restoration of electricity to long-neglected communities.

Other milestones mentioned include the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Ogbia-Nembe Road, and the new Sokoto-Badagry Road; student loans under the NELFUND scheme benefiting 400,000 young Nigerians; the creation of regional development commissions and the launch of Nigeria’s first-ever Consumer Credit Scheme.

“These are not press statements. These are results, tangible, measurable, and ongoing. That is leadership,” Dare declared.

The Presidency described the ADC as a political “contraption” plagued by internal strife and legal woes, noting that the party has become consumed by “internal squabbles” and is “reduced to issuing these baseless attacks to cling to the fringes of relevance.”

In a final swipe, Dare stated: “Let it be said without equivocation: Nigerians are not fooled. No press statement — however venomous — can erase the facts of progress.

“President Tinubu honoured Buhari with dignity in death and continues to honour his legacy through hard work, not hollow words.”

He urged Nigerians to ignore the “political noise” from what he called “an outfit gasping for attention,” affirming that President Tinubu remains focused on delivering the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Also reacting in a separate statement on Friday, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) berated the ADC for accusing President Bola Tinubu-led administration of exploiting the state burial accorded the late President Muhammadu Buhari for political gains.

APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the opposition party must have been shocked by the dignified state burial and the show of compassion and support for his bereaved family by the government and the people, describing the ADC’s criticism as “spooky, unconscionable,” and a reflection of its “duplicity and insensitivity.”

Dismissing the criticism, Morka said: “ADC has showcased itself to be without any understanding of customary state practice, and lacking empathy and essential humanity.

“It has cut its own portrait as a party of mindless political dregs, a dump of Nigeria’s internally displaced politicians ready to do or say anything in chase of attention but sinking itself deeper in quicksand of ignominy.

“That the ADC is blowing up over the state burial of the late President only reflects the party’s duplicity and insensitivity.

“What would the ADC have had President Tinubu do? Deny the late President Buhari the honour of a befitting state burial? Withhold empathy and support for the bereaved former first family?

“As a party that can begrudge the dead, the ADC must surely disdain the living.

“It is unacceptable for the ADC to politicise a solemn moment of national grief, more so as its senseless statement was issued during the week of national mourning for the late President.

“The party’s reference to heartfelt gestures and activities of the government in honour of the late President as “exploitation” is beyond the pale.

“It falls far outside the widest and wildest stretch of justifiable opposition politics.

“Clearly, the party and its villainous leaders have allowed their humanity to be corroded by desperation for inordinate and self-serving power.”

Eulogising Buhari, the ruling party said the late President lived a life of illustrious service to country as a soldier, military Head of State, a two-term democratically elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The party stressed that Buhari was “just a human being, a father, survived by a loving but grieving family worthy of our collective empathy and support at this difficult time.

“President Bola Tinubu showed compassion and a deep sense of loss of a friend, close political associate and predecessor.

“He demonstrated patriotism and leadership by overseeing and participating in honouring the late president who gave so much to our dear nation.”

The governing party then warned that Nigerians must remain wary of the ADC and its band of political marauders prowling for power with nothing to offer Nigerians except peddling falsehood and vilifying a President who is hard at work for the transformation and progress of our nation.

A former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has hit back at critics accusing President Bola Tinubu of exploiting the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari for political gain.

In a post on his X handle on Saturday, Sani dismissed the backlash against Tinubu’s actions, arguing that the President had gone above and beyond to honour his late predecessor in ways even Buhari never did for others.

“The President physically attended the burial of Buhari, met with his family, declared a public holiday, held a FEC meeting in his honour and renamed a university to immortalise him.

“Something even the late President never did to others, and yet they said he is ‘exploiting the death of Buhari’. What would they have said if he had done none of the above? Politics is something else,” he stated.

Sani’s remarks come amid a wave of political commentary following Tinubu’s official tributes and national gestures in the wake of Buhari’s passing.

The former senator, known for his candid views on national issues, noted that the criticism of Tinubu was misplaced and reflective of deeper political sentiments rather than an objective assessment.