The African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday accused President Bola Tinubu of running an economic policy that ships Nigeria’s wealth abroad in raw form while leaving Nigerians at home with higher prices, weaker purchasing power and struggling factories.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the contradiction has become impossible to hide.
According to the former vice president, Nigeria is exporting more raw materials, yet Nigerian manufacturers are sitting on trillions of naira worth of unsold goods because ordinary families can no longer afford what they produce.
He said: “This is the painful paradox of Tinubu’s economy: the ships are leaving our ports full, but the pockets of Nigerians are empty. Government celebrates exports and trade surpluses while families are cutting meals, businesses are counting unsold stock and manufacturers are struggling to keep their gates open.
“You cannot build a $1 trillion economy by making your own people poorer.”
Reports said Nigeria’s raw-material exports rose by 106 percent, from N1.86 trillion in the first half of 2025 to N3.84 trillion in the first half of 2026.
Atiku said: “There is nothing wrong with exporting. The problem is exporting the cheapest part of the value chain and buying back the expensive part.
“When we export cocoa beans instead of cocoa butter, powder and chocolate, hides instead of leather products, cotton instead of garments and minerals without processing them, we are handing other countries the opportunity to make the real money from resources that came from Nigerian soil.
“That is not how prosperous nations are built. Nigeria must stop behaving like a loading bay for raw materials.”
Atiku said the clearest evidence of the failure of Tinubu’s policies is the crisis of purchasing power at home.
He added: “Unsold manufactured goods have risen to about N2.14 trillion, reflecting weak demand, high production costs and the inability of consumers to keep up with rising prices.
“That N2.14 trillion sitting in warehouses is not just a manufacturing statistic. It is a picture of the Nigerian family.
“It means the mother who sees what she needs in the market but cannot afford it. It means the salary earner whose pay finishes on transport, electricity and food. It means the trader whose customers now price goods and walk away.
“Nigerians have not stopped needing these products. Tinubu’s economy has simply made them too poor to buy enough of them.”
2027: Tinubu exporting Nigeria’s wealth, importing hardship – Atiku