Numbers don’t feed people, Sowore slams FG’s economic reform metrics

Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, has challenged the Nigerian Federal Government's economic reforms, asserting that increased revenue and macroeconomic indicators have failed to translate into tangible improvements in the lives of ordinary Nigerians. Speaking on Arise Television, Sowore argued that the true measure of economic policy success lies in its impact on citizens' standard of living, employment, education, security, and wages.

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They are bringing out numbers as if we are foolish people. They want to do a mental adjustment on the psyche of the people.

Sowore criticized the government's reliance on metrics such as increased revenue, tax collection, and the tax-to-GDP ratio as evidence of progress. He emphasized that Nigerians are more concerned with their ability to afford basic necessities, job creation, and the improvement of public services. "They are bringing out numbers as if we are foolish people. They want to do a mental adjustment on the psyche of the people," Sowore stated, questioning the relevance of GDP to tax ratios when the GDP to standard of living is not addressed.

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We are talking about GDP to tax, but what about GDP to standard of living? Nobody is talking about that.

The activist further contended that despite higher government revenue, Nigerians are experiencing escalating costs of living and diminished purchasing power. He claimed that businesses are suffering, industries are closing, and many citizens are living in multidimensional poverty. Sowore also criticized the removal of the fuel subsidy, arguing it disproportionately burdened ordinary Nigerians, while suggesting that subsidies are a common tool used globally to protect vulnerable populations and support key sectors. He alleged that wealthy individuals and corporations benefit from government waivers, while the public bears the immediate brunt of policy changes.

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What we are asking them to produce are the wealthier people in society, the schools that have been built, the roads that you have constructed after you remove subsidy, and how your people are faring, how your businesses are faring.