The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has accused the African Democratic Congress of failing to pay its staff salaries for over a year.

“It has come to our attention that the National Working Committee of the African Democratic Congress, led by Senator David Mark as chairman and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as secretary, has refused and neglected to pay party staff for over a year,” the council’s spokesman Dele Alake said in a statement on Monday.

The APC, which described the situation as unconscionable, “wicked and reprehensible”, accused the ADC of insincerity.

“We find it unconscionable that a political party that has made many grandiose promises to hoodwink Nigerians owes its workers for more than 12 months. 

“Owing staff who come to work every day and who rely on the salaries for their daily sustenance is wicked and reprehensible. With this development, Nigerians can now see the emptiness and insincerity of those parading themselves as ‘new saviours’,” the APC said.

The council alleged that ADC leaders and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, “do not mean well for Nigerians and can do nothing” for the country.

“Their desperation for power is driven by personal aggrandisement and venomous ill will against President Bola Tinubu. A party that cannot pay its cleaners and workforce cannot be entrusted with our country’s affairs.

“Atiku Abubakar, the ADC’s leader and presidential candidate, has a reputation for owing his employees. While he regularly junkets to the UAE, staff at his Gotel Communication and other businesses also went months without pay and staged protests over unpaid salaries and other benefits,” it stated.

The council also accused former Governor Rauf Aregbesola of failing to pay Osun workers and pensioners during his two-term reign in the state.

“As governor, he mismanaged the state’s finances to the point that he could not pay workers. His government thus introduced quarter-salary and, at times, half-salary payments. As for pensioners, he abandoned them for more than four years. Many died because they could not afford the basics of life,” it said.

The APC urged Nigerians not to vote for the ADC in 2027, saying, “A party that aspires to govern Nigeria and which cannot be trusted with something as basic as the management of its own affairs and the welfare of its workforce should be rejected by Nigerians.”

ADC national publicity secretary Bolaji Abdullahi did not respond to a request for comment on the APC’s allegation.