The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently review his administration’s economic policies, warning that worsening poverty and hunger across the country indicate that current reforms are failing to improve the lives of Nigerians.
In a statement issued on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party cited recent reports by the World Bank and the World Food Programme (WFP), which estimated that about 139 million Nigerians live below the national poverty line, while 17 million face acute hunger.
The ADC argued that the figures reflected the impact of the government’s economic reforms, despite official claims of economic recovery through increased revenue, economic growth and improved foreign reserves.
According to the party, improvements in macroeconomic indicators have 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 opposition party maintained that it had consistently warned that economic growth would remain meaningless if it failed to reduce hardship, create jobs and improve citizens’ welfare.
It also criticised the Federal Government’s continued reliance on palliative programmes, describing them as temporary measures that cannot address the root causes of poverty and food insecurity.
The ADC proposed what it described as an alternative economic agenda, including reducing energy costs, improving security in farming communities, rehabilitating abandoned dams to boost irrigation, expanding access to quality agricultural inputs, investing in storage and agro-processing facilities, and strengthening education, healthcare and skills development.
The party further argued that the administration should prioritise policies that directly improve living standards, insisting that economic success should be measured by the quality of life of citizens rather than government statistics.
It added that unless the current economic direction is changed, poverty and hunger could worsen further, urging the President to reconsider his approach to governance.
