Olusegun ARIYO
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has blamed the worsening poverty and hunger in the country on the economic policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, advising the President to reverse course or resign from office immediately.
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.
Its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, in a statement on Saturday, said the ADC believed 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.
The party noted that 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.
It 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 statement explained, “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 party said 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 ADC lamented that the government had stubbornly maintained what it described as ruinous economic policies and continued to market recklessness as courage and wickedness as necessary pains.
The party said the latest poverty and hunger figures represented President Tinubu’s performance after three years in office, insisting that they should prompt serious reflection by the administration.
It added that, based on what it described as a catastrophic failure, President Tinubu should be considering resigning from office rather than seeking re-election.
The ADC said Nigeria required a government that placed greater emphasis on improving the lives of citizens rather than celebrating economic statistics, stating that the true test of any economic policy should be its ability to reduce poverty, create jobs and improve the welfare of the people.
The opposition party also criticised the government’s reliance on palliative programmes, arguing that temporary interventions could not provide lasting solutions to poverty and food insecurity.
It said poverty could only be addressed through structural reforms that stimulate production, support agriculture and create sustainable livelihoods.
The party outlined what it described as its alternative economic agenda, promising to reduce energy costs, improve security in farming communities and rehabilitate Nigeria’s 264 abandoned dams to expand irrigation farming.
It also pledged to increase access to quality seeds, fertilisers and agricultural extension services, invest in storage and agro-processing facilities, and establish regional agricultural production belts to improve food distribution and lower food prices.
In addition, the ADC said it would prioritise investments in nutrition, healthcare, education and skills development as part of efforts to tackle the root causes of poverty and hunger.
It maintained that economic success should be measured by improvements in Nigerians’ quality of life rather than by government statistics.
“Hunger is the most honest measure of economic performance because it cannot be manipulated. Until fewer Nigerians go to bed hungry, until poverty begins to fall instead of rise, and until every Nigerian family can once again afford three decent meals a day, every claim of economic success will remain unrecognisable to the people whose lives those policies are supposed to improve,” the statement added.
