Tinubu Has Priced Nigerians Out Of Decent Living – Atiku

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of worsening the economic hardship facing Nigerians, saying many households can no longer afford homes, cars and basic household items.

Atiku made the allegation in a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, while reacting to the latest Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Household Expectations Survey.

The former vice president described the survey as a “damning verdict” on the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, arguing that declining household purchasing power showed that Nigerians were being pushed further away from asset ownership and a decent standard of living.

According to the CBN survey 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.

The survey also showed that willingness to purchase vehicles fell to 18.7 points, while willingness to purchase buildings and landed property stood at 19.2 points.

Atiku said the figures reflected the economic realities 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.

“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.”

Atiku further linked the declining purchasing power of Nigerians to rising food costs, citing the latest SBM Jollof Index, which he said put the average cost of ingredients for a pot of jollof rice for a family of five at ₦29,578.

He argued that the cost represented more than 40 per cent of the ₦70,000 national minimum wage, leaving workers with limited resources to meet other essential expenses.

“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 added, “Tinubu first stole jollof rice from the family dining table. Now, his economy is taking away the house in which the table should stand and the car with which the breadwinner should get to work.”

The ADC presidential candidate also criticised the Federal Government for celebrating macroeconomic indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP) growth and foreign reserves while, according to him, ordinary Nigerians continue to struggle with the rising cost of living.

“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.”

Atiku warned that the decline in household purchasing power could have wider consequences for the economy, arguing that weak consumer demand would affect businesses, production and employment.

He said, “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.

“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.”

The former vice president called on the Tinubu administration to focus on policies that would improve household incomes and restore citizens’ ability to save and acquire assets.

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

“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.”