The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on President Bola Tinubu to either abandon his current economic policies or resign, arguing that rising poverty and hunger under his administration reflect the failure of the government’s economic reforms.
The opposition party said recent poverty and food security figures released by international development agencies showed that millions of Nigerians had become worse off despite the government’s claims of economic progress.
In a statement issued on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the reported 139 million Nigerians living below the national poverty line and millions facing acute hunger represented the true impact of the administration’s policies.
“The evidence of 139m people living in poverty and 17m at the risk of starvation is President Tinubu’s scorecard.
“On account of this catastrophic failure alone, President Tinubu should be contemplating resigning from office rather than seeking re-election,” the statement said.
The party argued that improvements in government revenue, foreign exchange reserves and other macroeconomic indicators had failed to improve the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians.
“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,” Abdullahi said.
The party accused the administration of continuing with what it described as “ruinous economic policies,” alleging that it had continued to “market recklessness as courage and wickedness as necessary pains.”
According to the ADC, Nigeria requires leadership that prioritises the welfare of its citizens.
“The true measure of any economic policy is whether it improves the lives of the people, not compounds their misery.”
The opposition party also dismissed the Federal Government’s social intervention programmes, arguing that palliative measures could not provide a lasting solution to poverty and food insecurity.
“Poverty cannot be defeated through palliatives. It can only be defeated by building an economy that enables Nigerians to produce more food, earn decent incomes and live with dignity.”
As part of its proposed economic agenda, the ADC said it would focus on improving security in farming communities, rehabilitating the country’s 264 abandoned dams to expand irrigation, improving farmers’ access to quality inputs and strengthening agricultural value chains.
The party also pledged to establish regional agricultural production hubs, reduce transportation costs, invest in storage and agro-processing infrastructure, and increase spending on nutrition, healthcare, education and skills development.
“The choice before Nigeria is no longer between competing economic theories.
“It is between an economy that produces impressive government statistics and one that produces better lives for its people.”
The statement comes amid ongoing debate over the impact of the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms, including the removal of petrol subsidy, exchange-rate liberalisation and tax policy changes introduced since May 2023.
The Federal Government has consistently defended the reforms, saying they are necessary to stabilise the economy after years of structural distortions. It maintains that improvements in public revenue, external reserves, investor confidence and easing inflation indicate that the measures are beginning to produce results.
The government has also introduced social intervention programmes, including cash transfers, student loans, consumer credit initiatives and support for small businesses and agriculture, to cushion the effects of the reforms.
However, opposition parties, labour unions and civil society organisations continue to argue that the policies have increased the cost of living, reduced purchasing power and pushed more Nigerians into poverty.
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