Nigeria's Opposition Slams Tinubu's Economic Policies Amidst Soaring Poverty

Nigeria's opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has sharply criticized President Bola Tinubu's economic policies, labeling them as ruinous and detrimental to the lives of Nigerians. The party's strong stance comes in response to recent reports from international organizations highlighting the nation's deepening poverty and hunger crises.

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This is hardly surprising as this catastrophic situation is the inevitable consequence of economic policies that have favored money over people and statistics over survival.

A World Bank report revealed that 139 million Nigerians, approximately 60 percent of the population, now live below the national poverty line. This grim statistic is compounded by a World Food Program (WFP) finding that 17 million Nigerians are experiencing acute hunger, marking the country's most severe food security crisis in nearly a decade.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC argued that these reports serve as stark evidence of the Tinubu administration's policy failures. The party warned that the current economic direction could lead to even more catastrophic outcomes if continued beyond 2027, with a projected 79 percent of the population nearing poverty.

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The ADC has repeatedly warned that the economic growth, increased revenue, and rising foreign reserves that the Tinubu-led APC government continues to celebrate are meaningless if they do not translate into better lives for the people or protect their livelihoods.

The ADC called for an immediate abandonment of what it termed "neoliberal economic policies" that have allegedly "ruined the lives of almost the entire country." The party asserted that economic growth, increased revenue, and rising foreign reserves, often celebrated by the government, are meaningless if they do not translate into tangible improvements in people's lives or protect their livelihoods. The ADC accused the government of stubbornly adhering to its "ruinous economic policies," marketing "recklessness as courage and wickedness as 'necessary pains.'"

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Instead of changing course, the government has stubbornly stuck with its ruinous economic policies and even continues to market recklessness as courage and wickedness as ‘necessary pains.’

"The evidence of 13 million people living in poverty and 17 million at the risk of starvation is President Tinubu’s scorecard," Abdullahi stated. He suggested that Tinubu should consider resigning rather than seeking re-election, emphasizing the need for a government that understands and cares about the populace. The party rejected the cycle of temporary interventions and emergency responses, advocating for policies that genuinely improve citizens' lives rather than compounding their misery.

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The evidence of 13 million people living in poverty and 17 million at the risk of starvation is President Tinubu’s scorecard.