Johnchuks Onuanyim 
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has slammed former presidential adviser, Pat Utomi, over his recent criticisms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, describing his actions as driven more by personal animosity than constructive intent.
Reacting to Utomi’s announcement of a “Big Tent Coalition Shadow Government” on May 5, 2025, the APC, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, accused the professor of engaging in political theatrics.
“Professor Pat Utomi must be an intellectual drama king of sorts,” Morka stated.
“His declaration of a shadow government contradicts the very rationale he gave for yet another of his serially failed ‘big bang’ political experiments.”
Utomi had alleged that the Tinubu administration’s “policy missteps” had worsened poverty and relied on propaganda while suppressing dissenting voices.
He also cited recent defections to the APC as evidence of democratic decline in Nigeria.
But the APC refuted these claims, stating that Utomi has always exercised his full rights to freedom of thought, speech, and association in a democratic society.
“Utomi has enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, his fullest constitutional rights. His declaration of a shadow government is, in itself, a display of democratic freedom – in the extreme,” the party said.
The APC condemned Utomi’s comparison of Nigeria’s democratic situation to the fascist era of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany, calling the analogy “reckless, irresponsible, and insensitive.”
The party described Utomi’s political track record as one marked by failure and disorientation, citing his unsuccessful bid for the Delta State APC governorship ticket in 2019, his role in Peter Obi’s 2023 Labour Party campaign, and other collapsed third-force movements.
“Utomi’s dramatic narrative about fuel subsidy is revisionist,” the statement continued.
“Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Peter Obi of the Labour Party also campaigned for the removal of the subsidy. That is not propaganda – it’s a documented fact.”
On the issue of party defections, the APC stated:
“No democratic principle compels a ruling party to manage the affairs of opposition parties. The APC is not responsible for the dysfunction and disintegration of the opposition.”
The party said the ongoing defections into the APC are a sign of endorsement of President Tinubu’s inclusive and visionary leadership.
“These defectors are patriots who have chosen to be part of a historic repositioning of our nation under the bold leadership of President Tinubu,” the statement concluded.
