Odita Sunday 
By Odita Sunday
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has launched a scathing attack on President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, urging him to either reverse what it described as “ruinous” reforms or resign from office over worsening poverty and hunger in the country.
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), saying the figures reflected the failure of the Tinubu administration’s economic agenda.
According to the ADC, the World Bank estimated that about 139 million Nigerians, representing roughly 60 per cent of the population, now live below the national poverty line, while the WFP reported that 17 million people are facing acute hunger.
The party argued that the figures were evidence that the administration’s policies had failed to improve the welfare of citizens despite official claims of economic growth, increased government revenue and rising foreign reserves.
”The economic growth, increased revenue and rising foreign reserves being celebrated by the government are meaningless if they do not translate into better lives for Nigerians,” the statement said.
The ADC accused the government of pursuing economic policies that prioritise statistics over citizens’ welfare, insisting that the administration had continued to justify the hardship as “necessary pains” despite worsening living conditions.
Describing the poverty and hunger statistics as President Tinubu’s “scorecard,” the party said the President should be considering resignation rather than seeking another term in office if the current trend continues.
The opposition party also criticised the Federal Government’s reliance on palliative programmes, arguing that temporary interventions could not address the root causes of poverty and food insecurity.
Instead, it proposed a series of structural reforms which it said an ADC-led government would implement. These include improving security in farming communities, reducing energy costs, rehabilitating 264 abandoned dams to expand irrigation, increasing access to quality farm inputs, investing in storage and agro-processing facilities, and developing regional agricultural production belts to strengthen food supply chains.
The party further pledged greater investment in education, healthcare, nutrition and skills development, maintaining that sustainable economic growth must be driven by improved living standards rather than macroeconomic indicators.
”The choice before Nigeria is no longer between competing economic theories. It is between an economy that produces impressive government statistics and one that produces better lives for its people,” the statement added.
The ADC maintained that genuine economic success should be measured by declining poverty, affordable food and improved living conditions, rather than official economic figures.
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