The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said the year 2025 was clearly a difficult one for most Nigerians, as the renewed hope that the government promised only yielded more misery and widespread hardship, with citizens battling an ever-rising cost of living.

The opposition party also expressed sadness and sympathised with the Armed Forces and other security personnel over the loss of lives in the year while fighting to keep Nigeria safe. The ADC also consoled their families and asked for prayers for the souls of the deceased who paid the supreme price for defending their country.
In a New Year message, the National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David Mark, pointed out that necessities such as food, basic drugs and transportation were priced out of the reach of most people as a result of the government’s misguided policies, which have condemned more people to multidimensional poverty.
The statement read, “Fellow citizens, on behalf of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), I wish you all a Happy New Year.

“When the clock strikes the hour of midnight to signal a new year, it means more than just the passing of time. It also heralds a new season of hope and a moment of reflection. Let us give thanks to the Almighty God for the gift of life and the great opportunities that the new year presents to us.
“For our compatriots, especially our gallant soldiers and other security personnel who lost their lives in the year while fighting to keep our country safe, let us keep them and their families in our prayers. For our fellow citizens who also lost their lives to several violent activities of insurgents, bandits, terrorists and kidnappers, let us also pray for them and their families.”
The statement continued: “The year 2025 was, without doubt, a difficult year for the majority of Nigerians. The renewed hope that the government promised has yielded more misery and widespread hardship, as citizens battled with an ever-rising cost of living. Food, basic drugs and transportation were priced out of the reach of most people as a result of the government’s misguided policies, which have condemned more people to multidimensional poverty.

“However, rather than offer hope in the new year, the APC government has decided to impose stringent taxes that are bound to compound the misery of citizens already overburdened by cost-of-living crises. These taxes will not renew hope; they will renew hopelessness.
“Yet, 2025 also offered us a defining moment for our democracy. On July 2, 2025, we announced the coalition of opposition parties in Nigeria under the banner of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Like we have declared many times, our coalition was born out of necessity: to arrest Nigeria’s gradual descent into an authoritarian one-party state, and to rescue our country from a government that behaves more like an army of occupation than a government elected by the people, for the people.
“In taking on this mission, we were fully conscious of the responsibilities it imposed on us. We recognise that the legitimacy of our rescue mission will depend on our willingness to commit to a higher principle of politics, driven primarily by patriotism and service to the people. Since we announced the coalition, we have been encouraged by the overwhelming support and enthusiasm of ordinary Nigerians across the length and breadth of our country.”

Senator Mark said the party is aware that, because of the repeated failure of governments to deliver on past promises, many were sceptical about the genuineness of the ADC, stressing that, “but we call on you to overcome your doubts, to rise beyond your cynicism, and to join us in this historic mission. We do not claim to be perfect, but do not doubt our sense of duty and our commitment to be on the good side of history.
“No matter what we say, ‘We have seen all this before,’ they say. ‘We have heard all this before,’ they say. But we call on you to overcome your doubts, to rise beyond your cynicism, and to join us in this historic mission. We do not claim to be perfect, but do not doubt our sense of duty and our commitment to be on the good side of history.
“When all hope appeared lost, when the ship of our country floundered, when it looked like Nigeria would never rise again, it would be said that some people came together, not because they were perfect, but because they recognised the significance of the moment and said Nigeria must not fail. It must rise again.

“Fellow Nigerians, we know you are tired. You have every reason to be. But you cannot afford to give up now, because this country belongs to all of us. They want you to stop believing. They want you to stop voting. But if we rise together, not with violence but with vision, not with anger but with courage, then 2026 can be the year we begin to take our country back, the year the poor begin to breathe again.
“So let us walk into the new year, not in fear, but in faith.
“Faith in the power of the people. Faith in the possibility of something better. Faith that Nigeria’s story is not yet done.

“From all of us at the African Democratic Congress, and from my heart as a father, a soldier and a servant of this republic, I say Happy New Year. May 2026 bring us strength. May it bring us healing. And may it bring us closer to the Nigeria we still believe is possible.
“God bless the African Democratic Congress (ADC). And God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”