The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has blamed the economic policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for the worsening poverty and hunger in the country, calling on the President to immediately reverse course or resign from office.
The opposition party said recent reports by the World Bank and the World Food Programme (WFP) showed that the government’s economic reforms had failed to improve the welfare of Nigerians, despite official claims of economic recovery.
In a statement issued on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the World Bank’s report indicating that about 139 million Nigerians now live below the national poverty line, alongside the WFP’s estimate that 17 million Nigerians are facing acute hunger, reflected the devastating impact of the administration’s policies.
According to the party, the figures were evidence that the Tinubu administration’s economic policies had failed and could lead to even more severe consequences if the current approach was not changed.
The ADC argued that although the Federal Government continued to celebrate improvements in economic indicators such as increased revenue, economic growth and foreign reserves, such gains had not translated into better living conditions for ordinary Nigerians.
“The recent reports by the World Bank indicating that 139 million Nigerians or about 60 per cent of the population now live below the national poverty line are hardly surprising, as this catastrophic situation is the inevitable consequence of economic policies that have favoured money over people and statistics over survival,” the statement said.
The party maintained that it had repeatedly warned that economic growth and improved government revenues would remain meaningless unless they improved the welfare of citizens.
It accused the administration of persisting with policies that had compounded hardship while presenting them as necessary sacrifices.
“Instead of changing course, the government has stubbornly stuck with its ruinous economic policies and continues to market recklessness as courage and wickedness as necessary pains,” the ADC stated.
