Tinubu’s Economic Policies Have Made Decent Living Increasingly Difficult For Nigerians – Atiku

Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies.

Atiku said Tinubu’s government have made it increasingly difficult for many Nigerians to afford a decent standard of living.

He made the comments in a statement released on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

He said the latest Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) household expectations survey does not support the Federal Government’s claim that the economy is getting better.

According to Atiku, the survey recorded low buying conditions for major household assets.

He cited scores of 28.7 points for motor vehicles, 28.9 points for consumer durables, and 30.0 points for buildings and landed property.

He also noted that willingness to buy vehicles stood at 18.7 points, while the figure for buildings and landed property was 19.2 points.

“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,” Atiku said.

“What the figures tell us is simple: Nigerians are being priced out of decent living. A home is becoming a fantasy. A car is becoming a luxury. Household appliances are increasingly beyond reach.

“Families are exhausting their incomes on food, transportation, electricity, school fees and other necessities, leaving practically nothing for savings, investment or asset acquisition.”

The former vice-president also referred to the recent SBM Intelligence Jollof Index, saying the rising cost of living is affecting more than just food prices.

He said it is also limiting the ability of ordinary Nigerians to achieve their personal and financial goals.

“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,” he said.

“The numbers make the tragedy even more stark. According to the latest SBM Jollof Index, the ingredients required to prepare a single pot of jollof rice for a family of five now cost an average of ₦29,578.

“Think about what that means for a worker earning the ₦70,000 minimum wage: one ordinary pot of jollof rice can swallow more than 40 per cent of an entire month’s salary, before rent, transportation, electricity, school fees and healthcare are considered.

“And this is the same economy in which Nigerians are now postponing the purchase of homes, cars and basic household assets because there is simply no disposable income left.

“Tinubu has not merely made life more expensive; his policies are steadily pricing ordinary Nigerians out of food, comfort, asset ownership and the basic dignity of a decent life.”

He accused the Tinubu administration of focusing too heavily on economic indicators such as GDP growth and foreign reserves while the purchasing power of households continues to fall.

“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.

“Between official statistics and empty cooking pots, the cooking pots do not lie.”

He warned that declining household purchasing power could also hurt businesses and weaken the wider economy because consumers have less money to spend.

“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.

“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.”

Atiku therefore called on President Tinubu to focus more on the daily experiences of Nigerians instead of relying on what he described as “PowerPoint economics.”

“President Tinubu should stop governing Nigeria through PowerPoint economics. The real economy is the Nigerian family’s pocket, and that pocket is increasingly empty,” Atiku added.

“A government under which families struggle to afford jollof rice, workers cannot contemplate buying cars and millions see home ownership disappearing beyond the horizon cannot proclaim prosperity.

“Tinubu has not merely increased the cost of living. He has increased the cost of dreaming.”

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