Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has dismissed the Presidency's defence of President Bola Tinubu's economic policies, arguing that claims of economic recovery are at odds with the harsh realities confronting millions of Nigerians.
Reacting to a recent State House statement backing the administration's economic reforms, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said ordinary Nigerians were bearing the brunt of rising poverty, hunger and worsening living conditions despite government assurances that the economy was improving.
In a statement issued on Monday by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of celebrating macroeconomic indicators while ignoring the daily struggles of citizens.
"The State House celebrates macroeconomic indicators while ordinary Nigerians struggle with microeconomic realities. It speaks glowingly about GDP growth while families skip meals. It boasts of debt ratios while businesses shut their doors," he said.
The former vice president cited figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which he said showed that 63 per cent of Nigerians now live below the national poverty line, while about 27 million people experienced food insecurity towards the end of 2025.
According to Atiku, although the IMF acknowledged progress in certain aspects of the government's reform agenda, it also warned that poverty remained widespread and emphasised the need for stronger social protection measures.
"Governments are not elected to improve spreadsheets. They are elected to improve lives. Nigerians cannot eat GDP. They cannot cook with exchange-rate adjustments," he stated.
Atiku also rejected the Presidency's suggestion that critics were relying on outdated economic data, insisting that Nigerians were still grappling with the consequences of policies introduced by the current administration.
"The Tinubu administration is asking Nigerians to forget the very policies whose consequences they continue to endure every day. Economic policy is not a light switch," he argued.
On public borrowing, the former vice president questioned the government's justification for continued debt accumulation, saying the issue was not merely the volume of borrowing but whether the funds had translated into tangible improvements in infrastructure, employment and living standards.
"If revenue has improved so dramatically; if subsidy has been removed; if tax collection has increased; and if debt servicing has supposedly become more manageable, why does this administration continue to borrow at record levels?" he asked.
He further argued that although many Nigerians accepted the need for fuel subsidy removal, the expected benefits of the policy had yet to materialise.
"Government cannot ask citizens to celebrate sacrifice while the promised rewards remain invisible," Atiku said.
The ADC standard-bearer also faulted the administration's claims of progress in the education and healthcare sectors, contending that isolated projects and student loan initiatives could not be regarded as comprehensive reforms while millions still lacked access to quality services.
On infrastructure, he maintained that Nigerians would judge the government based on completed projects capable of reducing the cost of doing business rather than official announcements.
He urged the Presidency to devote more attention to addressing the country's economic challenges instead of defending its record.
"Governments are not judged by the elegance of their press statements or the sophistication of their economic theories. They are judged by whether families can afford food, whether businesses can survive, whether young people can find jobs, whether communities are secure, and whether citizens have hope for tomorrow," he said.
The latest remarks mark another chapter in the ongoing exchange between Atiku and the Presidency over the Tinubu administration's economic reforms.
While the Federal Government insists that policies such as the removal of fuel subsidy, foreign exchange reforms and tax measures have stabilised the economy and laid the foundation for sustainable growth, opposition figures maintain that the reforms have deepened economic hardship without delivering meaningful improvements in the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
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