Chuks Okocha in Abuja
The African Democratic Congress (ADC), has warned President Bola Tinubu that his government’s economic policy was pushing Nigerians “dangerously close to the limits of human endurance.”
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said with petrol now selling for as much as N1,470 per litre, every journey had become more expensive, while food and even basic education were being priced out the hands of citizens.
According to Abdullahi, “President Tinubu has turned the petrol pump into an instrument of punishment for everyday Nigerians. Food, transportation, electricity, education, and everything Nigerians need to survive responds directly to the price of fuel and combine together to make life difficult for the majority of Nigerians.”
The ADC noted that the widespread reports of private schools increasing fees by between 30 and 40 per cent, while incomes have not increased anywhere near that margin was another evidence of how life has become progressively worse under the APC government.
“Parents are not earning 40 per cent more. Their salaries have not risen with the prices of fuel, food, rent, transportation, and school fees. Yet, at every turn, this government demands that already exhausted families pay more,’’ Abdullahi stressed.
The party said it did not blame school proprietors who, it said, were themselves “struggling” with rising taxes, electricity bills, fuel costs, rent, and salaries.
“Parents, workers, and businesses are all casualties of Tinubu and the APC’s economy. At N1,470 per litre, petrol is no longer simply a commodity. It is Tinubu Tax, which has made life unbearable for the majority.
“Under Tinubu and the APC, Nigerians have been tightening their belts. Now, there are no more holes left, and people have started to choke.
“Families are now skipping meals, withdrawing children from school, abandoning medical treatment and shutting down businesses,” it said.
The ADC added that the government could not continue demanding sacrifice from ordinary Nigerians while public officials funded extravagant lifestyles from the same public purse.
“A reform that continuously makes the people poorer is not working. An economic policy that produces impressive figures at government briefings but hunger in Nigerian homes is a failure.
“When parents must choose between feeding their children and educating them, the government has failed spectacularly in its most basic responsibility.”
The opposition party said the 2027 election would present Nigerians with a clear choice between carrying on with enduring President Tinubu’s punishment and embracing the relief programme proposed by the ADC presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar
The party restated its presidential candidate’s commitment to reducing the price of petrol by bringing back subsidy to support domestic production of fuel, which would, in turn, ease the cost of food, transportation and production.
“Unlike Tinubu and APC, we recognise that economic reform must serve the people, not sacrifice them. Nigeria cannot be an oil-producing country whose citizens experience every visit to a filling station as punishment,” the National Publicity Secretary stated.
The ADC, therefore, warned the ruling party not to mistake the patience of Nigerians for approval or surrender.
“Their resilience must not become an excuse for continued cruelty. Tinubu has had enough time and inflicted enough pain. The people are suffering, businesses are dying, and hope is becoming increasingly expensive. President Tinubu must act now. Don’t push Nigerians to their limits,” the party said.