The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, has described former President Muhammadu Buhari as a “stopgap president” who inherited the consequences of what he called 16 years of “horrific maladministration” under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Morka made the remarks on Channels Television’s Politics Today while defending the performance of President Bola Tinubu and the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to Morka, Buhari’s administration was primarily tasked with preventing Nigeria from sliding further into crisis after the PDP’s 16 years in power.
“Buhari was a stopgap president who came to keep the country from tipping over the precipice of sixteen years of horrific maladministration of the PDP government,” Morka said.
He added that Buhari “served his term” and was essentially responsible for keeping the country stable before handing over to Tinubu.
Morka also defended Tinubu against criticism over the state of the Nigerian economy, arguing that the current administration inherited an economy that was already in serious difficulty.
“This president inherited an economy that was completely in a mess,” he said.
The APC spokesman further argued that the problems facing Nigeria were the result of what he described as a “generational” accumulation of economic challenges, rather than being solely attributable to the Tinubu administration.
Morka maintained that Tinubu had performed better than previous democratically elected presidents during their first terms, saying the administration’s economic policies had helped move Nigeria away from severe macroeconomic difficulties.
“The indicators speak for themselves,” he said while making the case for Tinubu’s performance.
The comments come as political parties and opposition groups begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with the APC expected to campaign heavily on the performance of the Tinubu administration.
Morka’s remarks also place the APC’s defence of Tinubu within a broader argument over responsibility for Nigeria’s economic challenges and the legacy of successive administrations since the PDP lost power in 2015.
The APC spokesperson’s position has, however, renewed debate over the party’s own record, given that Buhari governed Nigeria from 2015 to 2023 before Tinubu, another APC candidate, succeeded him in May 2023.
Morka’s latest comments are therefore likely to fuel further political debate over whether responsibility for Nigeria’s economic condition should be placed primarily on the PDP administrations that preceded Buhari, the eight-year Buhari government, or the policies implemented under Tinubu.
The APC is expected to use Tinubu’s economic reforms and other government policies as major talking points as the 2027 political contest gathers momentum.
