ADC, APC Trade Words Over Edo Shooting Incident

A fresh war of words has erupted between the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) following a strongly worded press statement by the APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, regarding a reported shooting incident in Edo State.

Responding on Thursday, ADC spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi criticised the tone and language used in the APC statement, describing it as unbecoming of a ruling party.

Abdullahi said the APC statement contained insulting phrases such as “insufferable jesters,” “utterly delusional,” “reckless,” “flippant,” “confused bunch,” and “political wanderers,” adding that the language was disappointing.

“Unfortunately, this is the kind of language I spent two years advising APC spokespersons to avoid. It is unbefitting of a ruling party — indeed, of any public communication in a democratic society,” he said.

The ADC spokesperson argued that Nigerians could distinguish between measured political communication and what he termed “political overreaction.”

“When a party in government resorts so quickly to insults in response to a straightforward call for accountability, reasonable citizens are entitled to ask what exactly is provoking such visible irritation,” he stated.

Abdullahi maintained that the ADC’s position on the Edo incident remained consistent, stressing that the party was not interested in “name-calling or narrative smokescreens.”

“Our position remains simple and consistent: violence in our political space must be investigated transparently, professionally, and without premature absolution,” he said.

He added that if the APC was confident in its claims, it should welcome scrutiny.

“If the APC is as confident as it claims, it should welcome the same sunlight and due process it now so loudly invokes,” he said, suggesting that the ruling party should begin by engaging the Edo State governor.

The exchange followed an earlier APC statement dismissing allegations linking the party to the Edo incident and accusing the ADC of attempting to smear the ruling party.

As political tensions rise ahead of upcoming electoral contests, the latest verbal clash highlights increasingly sharp rhetoric between the two parties.