Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, accusing the Federal Government of relying on favourable macroeconomic statistics while Nigerians struggle with declining purchasing power.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the 2027 election, said the latest Central Bank of Nigeria Household Expectations Survey exposed a widening gap between the government’s economic claims and the realities confronting households.
He made the remarks on Saturday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
The former vice-president particularly faulted the low levels of household willingness and ability to purchase major assets, including motor vehicles, consumer durables, buildings and landed property.
According to the figures cited by Atiku, buying conditions stood at 28.7 points for motor vehicles, 28.9 points for consumer durables and 30.0 points for buildings and landed property.
He said the willingness to purchase vehicles was even lower at 18.7 points, while buildings and landed property stood at 19.2 points.
Atiku argued that the figures represented more than economic statistics, saying they reflected the financial pressures being experienced by households across the country.
“These are not figures manufactured by the opposition. They are the verdict of Nigerian households captured by the Central Bank under President Tinubu’s own government,” he said.
He added that the figures showed that Nigerians were increasingly being priced out of home ownership, vehicle ownership and other basic improvements in living standards.
According to him, households are spending an increasing share of their incomes on food, transportation, electricity, education and other necessities, leaving little room for savings or investment.
Atiku also cited the latest SBM Intelligence Jollof Index, which he said estimated the average cost of preparing a pot of jollof rice for a family of five at about N29,578.
He noted that the amount represented more than 40 per cent of the N70,000 national minimum wage cited in the report, before other essential household expenses were considered.
The former vice-president said the combination of rising living costs and falling purchasing power was undermining the economic aspirations of ordinary Nigerians.
“Only recently, the Jollof Index told us what Tinubu’s economy has done to the Nigerian kitchen. Now the CBN survey is telling us what it has done to the Nigerian dream,” Atiku said.
He urged the administration to look beyond headline indicators such as Gross Domestic Product and foreign reserves and focus more on whether ordinary Nigerians could afford basic necessities.
Atiku described this as the difference between what he called “PowerPoint economics” and the real economy experienced by citizens.
“Government officials can celebrate GDP growth, foreign reserves and other statistics from air-conditioned conference rooms, but ordinary Nigerians have become unwilling economists, calculating every cup of rice, every litre of fuel and every transport fare before deciding what their families can afford,” he said.
He warned that declining household purchasing power could have wider consequences for businesses and employment.
According to him, when consumers cannot afford goods and services, businesses face declining sales, which can eventually affect production, investment and jobs.
The former vice-president said a successful economy should ultimately translate into improved living standards for citizens.
“An economy is not successful merely because government officials can quote favourable statistics. An economy succeeds when citizens can work, earn, eat, save, invest and progressively improve their standard of living,” he said.
Atiku further challenged the Federal Government to demonstrate the benefits of its economic reforms in the daily lives of Nigerians.
“Before there is GDP, there must be dinner. Before there is prosperity, there must be purchasing power. And before a government congratulates itself on reform, ordinary citizens must be able to see and feel improvement in their own lives,” he said.
He said Nigerians deserved an economy in which employment and income provided opportunities for advancement rather than merely enabling families to survive from one payday to another.
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