Adebayo To Tinubu: Nigerians Are Poorer Today Than Three Years Ago

Abuja, Nigeria– The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the 2027 general elections, Adewole Adebayo, has dismissed claims of economic progress under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insisting that the administration’s widely celebrated macroeconomic reforms have failed to improve the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians.

Adebayo made the remarks during a television interview held to mark the third anniversary of the Tinubu administration, where he criticised the Federal Government’s economic policies and accused officials of relying on statistics that do not reflect the realities facing citizens across the country.

According to him, the true measure of economic performance should not be based on government figures or official projections but on whether Nigerians can afford food, transportation, healthcare, rent and education.

“No one’s life is better off except those who are in government,” Adebayo said during the interview.

“When all economic policies crystallise, they are reflected in what people pay for food, rent, transportation, healthcare and education. In all these objective indicators, no one’s life is better off than before.”

The SDP chieftain faulted repeated attempts by government officials to present positive economic indicators as evidence that the economy is improving, arguing that citizens would naturally feel the impact if the policies were truly working.

“The economy belongs to all of us. If it is working, everybody will know it is working. Farmers, industrialists, traders, workers and consumers will feel it,” he said.

Adebayo also questioned why the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which has governed Nigeria since 2015, continues to blame inherited problems for the country’s worsening economic crisis.

According to him, the difficult economic situation President Tinubu inherited in 2023 was itself created during the APC’s eight years in power before Tinubu assumed office.

“The same political party and largely the same political actors produced the situation they now describe as terrible,” he said.

“Nigerians voted for them twice and those conditions emerged under their watch.”

The Ondo prince and businessman further accused the Tinubu administration of creating what he described as an “illusion of progress” through naira devaluation and increased borrowing.

According to Adebayo, many of the economic gains being celebrated by government officials — including rising revenues and improvements in foreign reserves — are not signs of genuine economic growth but are consequences of the sharp depreciation of the naira and mounting debt obligations.

“What they suffer from is what economists call the illusion of money,” Adebayo stated.

“The devaluation of the naira creates the appearance that more money is coming in, but that money has lost purchasing power.”

He argued that the government’s macroeconomic indicators are “faulty and incorrect” because they do not correspond with the realities experienced daily by households and businesses struggling to survive under worsening economic conditions.

Adebayo said the widening gap between official economic statistics and citizens’ standard of living shows that the administration’s policies are failing to produce meaningful outcomes for Nigerians.

He cited increasing poverty, rising unemployment and declining purchasing power despite official claims of GDP growth and moderating inflation.

“The average Nigerian wants to know whether he can buy food tomorrow. That is the true test of economic policy,” he said.

He also blamed the Federal Government’s foreign exchange policies for worsening the financial position of state governments and private businesses.

According to him, many projects awarded before the devaluation of the naira have now become significantly more expensive to execute, placing additional pressure on governors and contractors across the country.

He noted that most state governors belong to the APC and are implementing economic policies aligned with those of the Federal Government, making it difficult to separate state-level failures from federal economic decisions.

Adebayo further criticised the Tinubu administration’s borrowing strategy, claiming that a substantial portion of Nigeria’s foreign reserves frequently cited by officials is tied to debt rather than productive economic activities.

“They have engaged in heavy borrowing since coming into office, and a significant portion of the reserves being celebrated is already spoken for,” he said.

The SDP stalwart also questioned the credibility of the government’s inflation figures, insisting that the official data do not reflect the realities of fuel prices, transportation costs and the broader cost-of-living crisis confronting millions of Nigerians.

According to him, until the government’s policies begin to produce visible improvements in the daily lives of citizens, claims of economic success would remain disconnected from reality.

“The president and the country are better served by an honest assessment of the economy than by defensive arguments that do not reflect what Nigerians are experiencing,” Adebayo said.