Former VP fires back at Tinubu’s team, demands answers as 767 factories shut down under economic reforms
Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has launched a blistering counterattack against the presidency, declaring that no amount of propaganda can conceal the crippling hardship facing millions of Nigerians.
The former vice-president dismissed the Tinubu administration’s defence of its economic policies, accusing the State House of celebrating “spreadsheets” while ordinary citizens struggle to afford a single meal.
“The State House celebrates macroeconomic indicators while ordinary Nigerians struggle with microeconomic realities,” Atiku said in a statement issued Monday by his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu.
“It speaks glowingly about GDP growth while families skip meals. It boasts of debt ratios while businesses shut their doors. It trumpets reforms while millions of citizens slide deeper into poverty.”
The Unanswered Question
Atiku posed a direct challenge to President Bola Tinubu’s economic team:
“If the economy is doing so well, why are Nigerians getting poorer?”
He argued that governments must be judged by the quality of life of their citizens – not by macroeconomic data.
“Governments are not elected to improve spreadsheets. They are elected to improve the lives of their people. Nigerians cannot eat GDP. They cannot cook with debt-to-GDP ratios. They cannot pay school fees with statistical projections.”
Subsidy Removal: Three Years Later, Where Are the Dividends?
Atiku took aim at the petrol subsidy removal, arguing that Nigerians have seen no benefits – only pain.
“Three years later, Nigerians are entitled to ask: where are those dividends? Instead of relief, they have experienced the highest fuel prices in history, unprecedented transport costs, soaring food inflation, collapsing purchasing power and an economy where millions now struggle to afford even one decent meal a day.”
Manufacturing Sector in Crisis
Citing figures from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Atiku painted a grim picture of the real economy:
· 767 manufacturing firms have shut down
· 335 more are operating under distress
· N2.14 trillion worth of unsold finished goods sitting in warehouses
· Major multinationals including Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, and Kimberly-Clark have exited local manufacturing
“The true verdict on this administration’s economic policies is not written by government spokespersons. It is written in the silent factories, the abandoned production lines, the shuttered warehouses, the unemployed workers and the empty pockets of millions of Nigerians. No amount of propaganda can erase that reality.”
Borrowing Spree Under Scrutiny
The former vice-president also questioned the government’s continued borrowing despite claims of improved revenue:
“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?”
A Final Challenge to the Presidency
Atiku urged the Tinubu administration to stop defending its record and start delivering for Nigerians:
“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.”
